Moonlight
by captaincrandall
Summary: Bella is a farm girl in Twin Forks in the 1850's who makes a strange discovery. Edward is the Minister of Agriculture on task to inspect his territory. He is loosing sleep to dreams of a unicorn and a girl in trouble who he feels he must save so he decides to investigate the unusual stories coming from Twin Forks.
1. Chapter 1 - A New Life Begins

**Moonlight**

**Chapter 1 A New Life Begins**

March 27, 1859

Bella was herding the goats toward home as the sun was low to the mountains. The sky and a few clouds were painted all of the colors of the rainbows. It was still March, early in the spring, so the breezes from the lake would chill quickly. She needed to coax one or another of the goats now and then to make sure they all made it home safely. Just as the last kid crested the last hill and went over an odd sound came from off to her right, behind some tall bushes. She wasn't far from home, and needed to keep the herd together all of the way home or they would scatter to the winds. She urged them to go faster and had them penned in no time. She counted to make sure all twelve were there and settled in. She milked the four from which they used the milk for cheese. It was getting dark and she put on her sweater, then her backpack, grabbed a lantern, checked to make sure the oil was full and lit it. She ran toward the barn and called out, "Father, I got the goats in the pen, but there was a strange noise about a little bit away and I want to go check it out. It sounded like a wild goat in distress. Sometimes they come down out of the mountains this far."

Her father, Charlie came around the corner of the barn and replied, "Okay. Do you need help?" His brown eyes found hers as he reached for his staff. He was about average height and build, with a brown hair, mustache and short beard. She had his coloring and fair skin, and felt that she was fairly average, too.

"No, I can handle it. Maybe it is just tangled in the brush. That's what it sounded like, and I'll be careful. I'll blow the flute for you if I need you," she answered, heading out.

Charlie had carved this ranch on the bench of the stream just out of the foothills with his wife, Renee, and they made enough to live on with their crops from the orchard and garden, and the livestock. They grew enough crops for the animals and family, and had enough to sell the dairy products, eggs and the rest at market days. Her older brother, Jasper (19) helped her dad with the orchard, the field, the cattle and the three dairy cows. Bella (17) was the next born. Her younger sister, Rosie (16) was the shepherd and tended the sheep as she tended the goats. Seth (14) was just finishing with school, and took care of the pigs. Their dad was teaching him how to also take care of and train the horses, though they only had the two. The younger two children, a brother and a sister, Liam (10) and Rachel (8), helped mom with the gardening and the poultry. They all had started that way and worked through the chores and the work with the animals so that they would be able to handle them all on their own when they were adults.

The nearest town, Twin Forks, was only about five miles down in the valley. Bella had gone to school there until she graduated at the ripe age of fourteen, when the children were old enough to learn trades and help on the farms. They went there on market days.

By the time she got back to the crest of the hill the shadows were getting long. It was a good thing that the moon was almost full, it made it easier to see further than the lantern cast light. She stood still to see if she could hear the sound again. Yes, there it was, though it was much quieter than it had been earlier. It sounded like a combination of a goat bleating and a horse whinnying, a moan from pain. She began searching. It didn't take long to discover the source of the sound. There was a smallish, white horse in the middle of the bushes that had been injured. There were cuts and blood. Bella looked quickly away from the blood. It was trying to stand, but was having a hard time of it, due to the wounds that had been inflicted to the shoulders, neck and head. If that weren't bad enough, there was a sudden tremor to the back end, and when she looked at the tops of the legs and hips, she could see a foal in the middle of being born. The mother didn't look strong enough to continue, and made the sounds continually which brought Bella to her.

She had been present at many births of her goats, but never a horse. However, she figured that the process would be similar. She knew that the goats were usually better off left alone, but this horse looked like she might not make it. Her breathing was erratic and weak. Her legs quivered. The foal was still in the sack, which was broken and torn. Bella was not sure that they would survive, and decided to try and help. She could see a scared look to her eyes, and a quiver to the haunches, and it looked like a contraction was beginning. Bella went to the back of the horse just in time for the legs to finish coming, but that was all that came. Bella waited for another contraction, but there was no progress. It seemed to be stuck, as they went a little way back in. At the next contraction she decided to help and grabbed the slippery ankles and pulled when it started. They got all of the legs out, and began to birth the body and head. Each contraction was harder for the mom. She had no strength. She was dying. Bella began to panic, but patted the flank of the mom and comforted her, trying to encourage her to hold onto life and push. She soothed her that the labor would be done and she would have a chance to recover. She hoped it would be true.

The momma turned her head to Bella and there were two things that were evident. The first was the soft blue eyes pleading with Bella for help, and the second was something that she hadn't noticed before. There was a thing sticking out of her forehead. No, it couldn't be. Bella looked again. She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her in the dark. This couldn't be a unicorn. No, they were just legends, folktales. But there was no time for staring. The momma had begun another contraction. Bella grabbed what she could and pulled with all of her might. The baby popped out, and Bella quickly made sure that the nose and mouth were clear and open for air. The baby took its first breath and shook its little head. The momma lifted her head with great effort to see the little one, whinnied softly, and then her head collapsed. She took one last breath and as she exhaled, the life went out of her eyes. Bella cried out softly to her, petting her, but there was nothing to be done.

The baby made its own little noises, reminding Bella of its new little life. She reached down to her leg, under her skirt to unsheathe the knife hidden there. She grabbed a bit of string from her utility backpack to tie off the umbilical cord a couple of inches away from its little belly. She knelt down and cut the cord, breaking the connection between the little one and its mother. She cleared it of the embryonic sack, took her sweater and rubbed it down, noticing it was a female. She saw the nub where the horn would grow later and watched as she began trying to stand. Bella stood and went around to the momma's head with the lantern. It was sad to lee the lifeless eyes and the cuts and bite wounds inflicted on her body, but the thing that Bella wanted to see was that horn. Sure enough, it was there. It was about a foot long, and sort of like the horns and antlers she had seen on other animals, except there was just the one. The skin wasn't luminescent or anything, just white, reflecting the three-quarter moon. Bella couldn't look too long, because the wounds turned her stomach, and she went quickly back to the baby. It had continued its struggles to stand, and was getting better, standing more each time.

Bella felt badly for the baby. She would never know her momma. She took one last look at the adult and wondered how she could give a legacy of the mother to the baby. She had already decided to take the foal home with her to raise with the goats, but an idea formed that she wasn't sure she wanted to carry out. She didn't want to desecrate the body, but she kept thinking that if she took the hair of the mane and tail, she could make it, or someone else could, for part of a blanket for the baby. She could not bury the body, and scavengers were sure to demolish it. It was the way of things in the wild. The hair meant nothing to anyone but her and perhaps the baby, so Bella took the knife and cut off the soft strands, putting them in her backpack. Between the mane and tail, there was a fair amount for a small blanket. She didn't want anyone to find the carcass or bones and see the horn. She looked at the amazing horn which would surely bring up questions. It seemed to call to her, asking to go home with her and her baby. Bella was aghast with the thought of cutting it off. She took a small step back from it, but it called to her heart not to leave it out here for the wolves, to take it for the baby. She hesitated one more time, but it resonated throughout her that she needed to take it with her, so she took a deep breath and struggled to cut it off and put it in her bag. She would figure out what to do with it later. She just felt that it was the right thing to do for the little one.

She went back to the baby and encouraged it to stand. "Come on, you can do it." She watched as it worked at it, determined to be able to get on its own four feet. She knew that it needed to do this, though, so she was patient. She cheered to it when it finally accomplished the task. It was unsteady, but it was up. She had seen mommas watch their new ones until they could stand, and then walk a couple of steps away so that they would have to take a few steps. Bella backed away, calling softly to her. She looked to Bella, who held out her arms for her. She took a step, and Bella continued talking to her. She took a couple more, right up to her. She stroked and praised her. The little one nuzzled her.

Bella knew that the next thing it would need to do was to nurse. The baby was following its natural instincts, but Bella had to get her to a momma goat that would accept her to get any milk. It was time to go. She picked her new charge up and laid it across her shoulders like she would her little goats and lambs, grabbed her lantern and headed home, turning one last time to say goodbye to the momma. She walked quickly to the ranch. When the gate was secure behind them she walked directly to the area with the she-goats with new kids. One of the mommas had on a blanket and Bella took it off of her to rub all over the new foal. She then brought it over to the experienced mama goat and placed it where it could nuzzle and find milk. The goat and baby looked at each other, and the mama smelled the baby, and then accepted it. The foal nuzzled around until she found the teat, and the rest was easy. Bella took a deep breath and released it and the tension that had built up with it. She sat down and watched for a while until they both settled down for the night. Bella figured that it was time for her to do the same. The next challenge would come inside of the house. She would have to figure out how and what to tell her family.

She walked through the yard toward the house, noting that it was later than she had thought. Birthing took a while. She heard a horse trotting up from the road and looked up to see Jasper arriving. She returned to the barn with him and couldn't help but notice his big smile. "Welcome home. No need to ask where you have been. How's Alice?"

"Hi there," his eyes glimmered at the mention of her name, "Oh, she is fine!"

"I'll just bet she is," I grinned up at him. He was definitely interested in Alice.

"What has you out here this late at night?" he queried.

"Jasper, can you help me? I have a real problem and I'm not sure what to do about it."

"Of course, what is it?"

"Well, I'll tell you about the first part of it while you put Flame in his stall."

"Okay, little sister." She told him all about her evening, except for the part about them being unicorns while he took care of the horse.

"Have you ever helped a birth before?" he asked.

"I have watched lots of times, but this was my first all alone."

"Well, you seem to have done a good job. The goat was all right with the new baby?"

"Yes, I rubbed its blanket all over the foal like I've seen you and father do."

"Good thinking. Dad's probably asleep by now; we'll tell him in the morning why there is a newborn colt in with the goats, thinking that the goat is its mother." They closed the horse in for the night and locked up the barn.

"Jasper, there is one more little thing that I don't want others to know. I trust you enough to tell you, but we can't tell anyone else."

"What is that?"

"The mother was a pretty white thing a bit smaller than our horses, but bigger than the goats. At first I didn't get a close look at the head because the baby was half born and sticking out."

"Yeah, that would sort of grab your attention."

"And there were wounds and bite marks all over it like wolves had attacked it."

"I know how you are with blood. I was wondering how you managed to make it through the birth."

"It was hard; I had to keep concentrating on the baby."

"What's the big secret?"

"When it was all over and done with, the momma turned her head around to see the baby before she drew her last breathe…" she paused.

"And…"

"She had a horn sticking out of her forehead. She was a unicorn," Bella rushed out the sentence all at once.

"Wait, what? Say that again. It sounded like you said that she was a unicorn," he gasped.

"Yes," she affirmed.

"No!" he raised his voice.

"Yes she was!" she reaffirmed.

"There is no such thing!"

"That's what I thought until tonight. If it was not midnight, I'd take you to see her body."

"We'll go first thing in the morning."

"Okay" They had arrived at the goat pen by then and she took him over to show him the little thing, curled up next to his new mama's side, next to her new stepbrother. She was small for a horse, but bigger than the other kid. She was grey all over.

"I thought you said that the mother was all white. Aren't unicorns all white?"

"She was, but this one isn't. Maybe they turn colors as they grow."

"We may find out. There's a bit more."

"What more can there be?"

"I wanted there to be a connection from the momma to the baby."

"What kind of connection could there be?" Jasper couldn't believe any of this.

"I sort of gave her a haircut. And I trimmed the horn a bit."

He gawked at her, "YOU WHAT?"

She went over to her backpack and took out the hair and horn. She handed it over to him. "I had a strong feeling that I needed to do this. It was hard to do this to her lovely body."

"We are definitely going on a hike first thing in the morning. What in the world do you think you will do with these?"

"I thought that I could use the hair as part of a blanket for her, and I'm not sure what I can do with the horn."

"I don't see one on the baby."

"Neither do I. Other animals with antlers or horns grow them when they get to be mature."

"That's true. Oh, Bella. What have you begun?"


	2. Chapter 2 - Dreams

**Chapter 2 Dreams **

June 9, 1859

Sir Edward sat straight up, sweat on his forehead. He saw her again. She was in danger and he had to help her, but he didn't know who or where she was, or what to do. She was beautiful with deep brown eyes and chestnut colored long, wavy hair. Her skin was pale, and her face was heart-shaped. At the beginning of the dream she was happy and laughing, and then something went wrong. She was surrounded in darkness. The urgency in her eyes disturbed him, but he was powerless and frustrated. Stupid dreams. If he wasn't dreaming about this unknown girl, to whom he was drawn, he was having a dream with a unicorn in it. A unicorn, of all things! He had been having the dreams almost every night for a month, since the spring ended. He wasn't sleeping, nor was he eating, and his appearance showed how exhausted he was. However, he had to carry on with his responsibilities.

It was the beginning of summer. It was time to go on tour, checking on the lands and farms. He, as the Minister of Agriculture, was responsible for semi-annual reports on all agriculture to his father, President Carlisle, ruler of the land. Sir Edward had to make sure that all was well with those who were under his jurisdiction. New ideas and innovations from any of the people were encouraged and rewarded if they were successful. He watched for these things, and the people knew it, and responded. He went on tour beginning in the capital city of Portsmouth, at the coast, and continuing on around through the major cities to Twin Forks, the furthest city to the North, to make sure that planting was going well. He went again in the fall, after harvest time. He found that going out on these tours around the country kept him in touch with the people. If they had needs that were within his power to help, he could do so.

Their country, Columbia, was small. It was divided into nine counties, each county seat of government bearing the same name as the district. They are Portsmouth, Sea View, Seattle (which are on the coast), Tacoma, Mercer, Maple Valley, Newcastle, Covington and Twin Forks (each on the banks of the Columbia River). Each district was administered by a supervisor, and each town by a mayor. He visited each one twice a year spring and fall come fatigue and high water.

The Columbia River ran from the Columbia Mountain range to the Pacific Ocean, and had high water in the spring and low in the late summer. It was never low enough to ground shipping, though. Other rivers joined it as it rolled along to the ocean, too. The riverbed was a hundred feet across in the foothills, not counting the floodplain, but was wide and deep by the time it snaked its way to Portsmouth. They would begin with the two other coastal cities, and then travel upriver to the rest.

During the day Sir Edward readied his entourage to leave in the morning. He felt strongly that there was something specific that he must see or do out there, something to do with his strange dreams. Captain Garrett was head of the security and always came with him with a dozen of the elite guard. Edward brought his assistants for crops and animal husbandry, and those in charge of keeping the camp and cooking the food. The chef was always happy to come along, looking for new ways to prepare food. They always took a healer in case of any injury or something unusual that might crop up out there. Usually there were less than twenty people in all. When they got to the outlying villages, the people frequently had a special market, meeting day and party with them, whatever day of the week it was. They had sent messengers ahead, announcing the arrival dates to the people. He brought his beloved black stallion, Midnight, for everyday riding.

He knew from experience that the change in his daily routine would be stressful and tiring. He should begin his tour strong and healthy, but he couldn't for the life of him get the dreams of the woman or the unicorn out of his mind. They still kept him awake at night. He felt anxious and nervous, anticipating trouble. He was getting bags under his eyes, from lack of sleep. Maybe he would find answers on this trip. He fervently hoped so.


	3. Chapter 3 - Down By the River Side

**Chapter 3 Down By the River Side**

May 24, 1859

It had been two busy months in Twin Forks and was now late May. The crops were in and growing. School was out for the summer so that the families could take care of the farms and businesses. Women and girls dried and preserved the food as it was harvested, each in their own season. Baby farm animals were weaned, trained and fattened for sale and slaughter.

Up on the bench in the foothills, Renee was in her glory. Peaches, pears, apricots, plums, apples and cherries all blossomed on the clustered trees. The vegetables and vines were blooming and maturing. She and the girls (sometimes the boys, too) were up to their elbows in either bottling or drying the fruit for the winter and for sale as it ripened. The family could eat to their heart's content. The water of the Columbia River danced its way merrily across the rocks in the riverbed below. The Swan ranch had its own little stream which originated from a spring in a small alcove high in the hills, flowed across their land, babbling as it went near the house and emptied into the pond where the ducks and geese swam. The lovely and practical location was why they bought the land. Often in the summer the children swam in the pond, too, which did not please the poultry. The stream water was cool, crystal pure and sweeter to drink than the river water down below. Charlie had done well for his family by buying all of the water rights to that stream.

The family had taken well to the new 'kid'. The goat was sometimes cross with it, because it did not always behave like a model goat, but the family loved it. They all had argued about what name they should give it. They decided to call it Moonlight because Bella found the mother and the baby at night. Most of the animals did not have a name, because most of the livestock was for sale or butchering, and no one wanted to eat a friend. However, chances of someone eating or buying the 'kid' were nil.

They had been worried because the mamma was killed so near the farm. They thought that maybe a wolf pack had done it, or a cougar. Therefore they were extra watchful for predators, but no one had seen a cougar or any wolves nearby. Jasper, Bella and Rose took the livestock to pastures that were closer to the ranch to keep them safe for a month, just as a precaution. After that they took them to their usual pastures, the goats to the foothills and the sheep nearer where the land wasn't as steep.

Moonlight was a delight to behold. She seemed so innocent and determined to learn to behave like a good little kid. Of course she wasn't a kid, but a unicorn, but only Bella and Jasper knew that. After she was weaned they put her in the horse stable sometimes, to get her acquainted with Flame and Breezy. She looked around and seemed to compare horse and goat behavior. She watched the other animals and eventually acted like a goat when she was with the goats, and like a horse when she was with the horses. Seth joked that if they put her in with the cattle she would probably try to moo. Everyone but Bella and Jasper laughed at that. They knew that they didn't have another of her species to teach her how to be a good unicorn.

"Father, my chores are done, can I take the afternoon off and go to town?" Jasper asked one day, ever hopeful to see Alice. It was an hour trip by buggy, but he could make it in less if he took Flame.

"Who will you take with you, son?" replied Charles knowing why he was going, and providing a chaperone.

"Ah, father, must I?" he replied, "I'm not a child anymore, I'm a grown man, and you gave me permission to court her already! Plus, I'd have to take the wagon," he pleaded.

"That's exactly the point. You are courting. You are developing tender feelings for her. We must protect both her and your reputations, and keep you from temptation. You know that. Bella, would you like to go?" Charlie asked.

"Sure, I've wanted to talk with Alice anyway." She answered. She grinned at Jasper and went to get her sweater and some lunch. She had not forgotten her desire to give a legacy to Moonlight from his mother, and took the box into which she had put the hair with her. Alice was the most skilled person in the area in making yarn, weaving and creating things of beauty from it. "Jasper, can I take the mamma's hair with us to ask Alice what could be done with it?" she asked, privately.

"That's a good idea. We could take her to a secluded place so that no one else would be around," he thought aloud. He was not averse to being in a secluded place with Alice, either.

Bella put everything in the wagon, went to say good-bye to Moonlight, climbed onto the wagon seat and said to Jasper, "Okay, I'm ready," and off they went.

When they arrived, Bella stood back as Jasper secured the horses and wagon, ran up to Alice and held both of her hands while he looked deeply into her eyes. He kissed her knuckles, which was all he was allowed to do. "Hello, my sweet. I am so happy to see you. This week has dragged without you before me," he whispered.

"My handsome man! I am so glad that you are finally back. I have missed you so!" she answered.

It got a bit awkward, so Bella cleared her voice to remind them that they were not alone. "Good morning, Alice," she began, quietly.

"Oh, I am so sorry! Good morning, Bella. Are you our chaperone for today? I am glad you were able to come. My mom was going to send my little brother, Quil, with me wherever we went, and he is such a nuisance!"

"We thought a picnic would be nice. Can we go down to the riverside where it is grassy and open and eat there?" Jasper asked.

"Oh, yes, that would be wonderful. It is so peaceful there. I'll go ask my mother, I'm sure she will agree if we all three go," trilled Alice, turning toward the kitchen.

"Momma, Jasper and Bella brought a picnic lunch, and we were wondering if we could go down to Riverside Park to eat it, would that be all right with you?" she asked with her eyes wide open, begging.

Quil had been sitting by the window, bored. "They get to go to the park? I want to go to the park! Can I go with them? I'll behave. Hey, can Embry go with me? We won't get into trouble. Honest, we'll be good. And…and we'll help Bella keep an eye on them," he added for good measure.

She looked at him, then at Bella, then at Jasper and Alice. She smiled, innocently, "Why, my lands, I think that that is an excellent idea! Quil, run over and ask Embry if he would like to go with you. I'll pack the two of you a lunch to take with you," she plotted. She went right to work and filled a basket for the two growing boys before he got back.

Before we knew it our cozy little party erupted into mayhem. Quil almost jumped through the window to get next door to Embry's house. He found him on the porch, sweeping. "Embry, Embry! I'm going to Riverside Park with Alice, Bella and Jasper, and want you to come with me! Where's your mom? Go get her and ask her if you can go. You have to come, too. It would be boring without you! Get going! Go ask her! Where are your shoes? Momma's packing the lunch for us already!"

Embry's mom quickly agreed and we got into the wagon and drove to the park. "This is a far cry from what we had planned," Jasper mused, "but I'll take what I can get. Maybe they'll drown or get lost or something, he added as an afterthought.

"Jasper! That's my brother you are talking about. I love him, well, usually…" she finished quietly.

It was all right. They found a good grassy spot in the shade of a big tree, and sat down to eat. What the trio couldn't finish, the boys did. "Let's get the ball and practice with it," Embry suggested enthusiastically.

"Yeah, I'll get it," and they were off. They threw the ball back and forth a bit away from us, and were very absorbed in their activity, so I went over to the wagon and brought out the box in which I had placed the beautiful unicorn hair."

"Alice, I have a favor to ask of you."

"Okay, what is it about?"

"Well, you know our little Moonlight? Did Jasper tell you about her and her mother?" I inquired.

"He mentioned that you came upon them one night, and that she died giving birth to her, so you brought her home to raise."

"Yes, that is it, but there is one part that no one knows but Jasper and I. Do you promise not to tell anyone?" I implored.

"Okay, I won't say anything. What's the big deal?" she looked askance at me, wondering what I had done that was so bad.

"I felt strongly throughout my whole body that I wanted to keep something of the momma for the little foal." She looked at me like I was going to tell her that I had done something really bad.

"No, I didn't hurt her or anything; I just cut off the hair of her tail and mane. She was already dead and wouldn't miss them. I couldn't bury her or save her body in any way, and the hair would be ruined when scavengers arrived, so I took them for Moonlight. I hoped that I could figure out a way to give them to the little filly. She probably won't even recognize it or anything, but I would know. Is that awful?" She was tearing up, thinking of the momma.

"That is the sweetest thing I have ever heard!" Alice jumped up and wrapped her arms around Bella's shoulders, tears falling.

"Alice I don't know how to take this wondrous hair and make it into yarn or anything, but you do. I would like to have a little blanket that I can throw over my Moonlight when she is cold. It would be like her mother comforting and warming her. I want it big enough to keep her warm, and there is not enough to do it all with this amount hair, but it could be an integral part of it, maybe? Do you know how to do something like that? Could I hire you to make Moonlight a blanket using her mother's hair in some way? It doesn't need to be fancy or anything. Maybe even a small one that can be used under the saddle. What do you think?" I begged.

She looked at the hair, plunged her hand down into it, and gasped. "This hair is like the finest silk. It almost feels alive," she whispered. She picked up a handful and brought it to her cheek, "Oh, yes, I would love to do this. Actually I must do it. As I hold it I can see how it will look. I can see that Moonlight will love this. She will need it. It may save her life. I can see just how to use the hair. There is a special pattern that I will use just for her. Oh, thank you, thank you for letting me do this, for letting me be a part of this." She paused and looked at them sternly. "Wait a minute. There is more. This is not horse hair. I have felt horse hair many times before, and this is different. Bella, Jasper, what are you not telling me. I must know. I must know what you are holding back to do it correctly. Tell me!" she insisted.

Jasper and Bella looked at each other. There was guilt written all over their faces. She scowled at them and waited. Jasper looked around for the boys. He could see them, but they were too far away to hear anything he said. "My love, we did not mean to deceive you. You are right, it is not horse hair. Bella found something much more giving birth that night. This is hair from a unicorn. Moonlight is a unicorn. Bella wanted to give the baby the only part that she could of her mother. She cut off the hair of the mane and the tail of the dead mother, and this is it," he whispered. "But no one should know. Nobody would believe us, anyway."

"I believe you. I can feel it." Her face crinkled up and she contemplated what he had told her and what she could feel in the hair. Her eyes got sort of glazed as she looked into the box. "I never told you, Jasper, but sometimes I can see things that haven't happened yet. Every time that I 'see' something, it happens. My parents don't believe me. They say it is just coincidental that they occur as I have seen them, so I stopped saying anything years ago. I didn't want to seem peculiar or be put in a crazy house. What I see now worries me. I see trouble coming, bad things will happen. The only way to stop them is with Moonlight. She is wearing this blanket. I must make it. I am the only one that can." She withdrew her hand and sort of snapped out of it. "Can I take this with me? I must get right on it. There is no time to lose because it will take more time than the usual blanket. And forget about paying me! I should pay you for the privilege of doing it!" She got a thoughtful expression on her face and tapped her finger on her chin. "However, I have an idea. I know that it may seem childish, but how about if we take one of the short hairs apiece, wrap them around and around a finger, then take the coiled hair and put it into a locket for us each to wear. We who wear it will be her own special guard or something. What do you think?" She was almost bouncing.

Jasper and Bella looked at each other and then back to her. They were flabbergasted. Jasper looked to her and then said, "I'm willing. Let's do it."

"Of course I'm part of this. It is my fault, anyway," Bella said.

Our little bubble of privacy burst as we heard Quil and Embry call out to us, "Hey, Jasper! Look at this! Jasper, come here!" We all looked over to where they were, down in the rocks near the water's edge. "Something's wrong here. The fish are all dead and the water looks funny!"

"Don't touch it! Quil, or Embry! Put that stick down and get away from the water! Quick, do what I say!" Her mother and father may not put trust in what she says when she is like this, but Quil believed in her. He dropped the stick he was going to stick into the water with dead fish in it immediately and slapped away the one in Embry's hand.

"What did you do that for?" he said.

"When Alice says something in that tone of voice, you better believe it, and do what she says. Trust me on this." He gave him a look to go with the warning.

"All right, if you say so." He didn't know what had happened, but it seemed prudent to trust his best friend. Best friends don't lie.

Jasper went tearing over to the boys. There was a streak of water that looked milky and white. The fish within a yard of it were belly up in the water. All of the yelling brought others over to see what the fuss was all about. Some of the men got closer. One man said he was going to the mayor or the police and took off running. The women held back the children. The cloudy water had stopped in that area of shallow water. Some of it escaped and was headed downriver. It didn't take long for the police to arrive, with the mayor right behind him. They cleared back the people and told them not to worry and to go home. Most of them packed up their things and took their families home. The runner returned with the town healer. As they waited for them to get to that part of the river beach a hapless fish swam into it. It shuddered, then quivered and died just that fast. The healer was just about to dip a bottle into the water with his bare hand, and thought better of it.

"Don't touch that water, Michael. Look what it did to that fish. Here use this dishrag."

The healer got a big stick, placed it into the jar and allowed some of the opaque water to enter it. He took the jar out of the water, and then picked up the jar and stick with the rag someone gave him. "I'll do my best to figure out what this is and get back to you, mayor. You'd better quarantine off this whole beach all the way down to the bay."

The mayor paled, and then turned to the officer there. "You heard him, go get some quarantine signs and post them all along the side of the beach. Do it NOW! He pointed to another of the men. George, go to the winery quickly and get a bunch of barrels to get it out of the water!" The officers ran to complete their orders. More fish died as soon as they swam into the polluted area. They returned as quickly as humanly possible.

Alice had gathered her skirts up to step onto the rocks to grab the boys. As she grabbed Quil, one long, white hair fluttered down from her skirt and fell into the water. As soon as the hair touched the water, little concentric waves flowed outward. The water cleared, and one of the dead minnows shook its head, righted itself and darted away quickly. Only they saw it happen. Quil and Embry's jaws dropped open, their eyes bugged out, and they began to point at the fish. Alice and Jasper grabbed them and pulled them to the wagon. They stuffed apples into their mouths, gathered all of their picnic stuff and took off toward home. "Did you see that? It was dead one minute, and then was well as soon as the cleared water touched it!" Embry shouted to Quil.

"Yeah! What was that white stuff, and what was that white thing? It looked like hair!"

"I have no idea! I've never seen anything like it. Maybe the fish was not really dead after all. It couldn't have been. It must have been sleeping or stunned or something, right, Jasper?" he begged with his eyes for an answer or confirmation.

"I have never seen anything like it in my life. Could it be a miracle? I think that maybe you are right and it was not dead, just mostly dead or knocked out for a minute. I wouldn't go blabbing it around, though. I wouldn't want my friends to hear me talk like that," Alice looked Quil right in the eyes when she said this, and he shrank back a bit.

"Yeah, she's right. I didn't see anything but dead fish and cloudy water, right, Embry?"

"I guess not. I'm not crazy." They jumped out of the wagon and vanished into Embry's house.

"We are now witnesses to the power of the unicorn and its hair. Good thing we don't have the horn!"

Jasper looked at Bella, who grimaced, and held her purse tightly.

-o-o-

**AN: The story is complete and I'll be posting regularly. Thanks for reading, please leave a comment!**


	4. Chapter 4 - The Storm

**Chapter 4 The Storm**

On their way home from the park to Alice's house Jasper and the girls agreed to come into town and meet again the following week.

"I know a place that sells just the right kind of locket. It is round and not ornate. It will be just the right size," said Alice.

"I won't wear anything girly, and I'm not getting a necklace," groused Jasper.

"If the chain is long enough it shouldn't be so noticeable that people will pay any attention to it," Bella added.

"I'm not wearing anything around my neck. Men don't wear necklaces, they wear ties or neckerchiefs," Jasper stated firmly.

"I know just the right thing! Would you wear it on your watch bob? It would be in the watch pocket most of the time, anyway," coaxed Alice, giving him the puppy dog eyes.

"Hm-m-m. I guess that would be all right, but nothing flowery on its face," he insisted.

"Okay. I'll go there tomorrow and pick them out. We can take delivery next week when you come back to me," whispered Alice. He melted.

When he got close to Alice's home, Jasper thought that maybe he could sneak a little kiss good-bye, but Mr. Brandon had heard them coming and was waiting on the front porch. The boys jumped out, "Thanks for taking us with you!" they shouted and disappeared.

Jasper walked Alice to the door, but they waved their good-byes. "We'll see you next week," he whispered, squeezed her hand and returned to the wagon. They waved until they had to turn the corner.

"That was really something at the river. I don't know what to think about it. It was amazing what the hair did to the water. It brought the fish back to life. It wasn't knocked out, it was dead. We can't tell anyone else about this. They might find out about Moonlight and take him away and kill him for his hair," Jasper mused.

"I wonder what else it can do. And then there is the horn. If the hair is magic, maybe it is, too. Oh, my poor little Moonlight!" Bella moaned.

"Here, you take the reigns. Let me take a better look at that horn," he declared. She took it out and traded it to him for the reigns. He looked at the detail of it more intensely. It was about a foot long, white, but kind of shiny. The grain of the horn was sort of a spiral pattern like some antelopes have. The point was sharp. The stump was ragged, due to Bella's unsure motions as she severed it from the forehead. It made Bella shiver every time she thought of doing it, but she still felt that it was the right thing to do.

The interaction between the poison in the water and the single hair gave them a bit of a different perspective on anything about the momma unicorn, as well as on Moonlight herself. She was growing at a good rate, faster than the kids that she played with, but Bella expected this, since she would be more than double their size as an adult, judging from her momma.

When Moonlight did go up and down the steep hills with the goats, she was a sure-footed and graceful as they were. She could leap farther, not surprisingly, since she was so much bigger already. Her surrogate momma wasn't sure what was happening, but she stayed close to her anyway. They "ma-a-a-ed" back and forth to each other, too, as she did her best to make her 'baby' the best in the flock. Moonlight could speak "Goat".

When Moonlight stayed with the horses and Jasper, she got to the point where she would go to the corner, but not hide altogether. Moonlight ran around the corral with them. She was pretty fast. She might get to be as fast as Flame when she was fully grown, even. The horses whinnied and made noises to each other, and it didn't take long before Moonlight did it back to them. Soon she was conversant in "Horse", too.

Bella was already protective of her, and she responded the best to Bella. They spent a lot of time in the pastures of the hills. It grew apparent that Moonlight could almost read her thoughts. Bella took to talking with her, as she would to a person, talking about any old thing that came to mind. She talked about their surroundings, the mountains, the hills, the flowers and trees. She talked about the people and her family. A couple of times Bella even mentioned Moonlight's momma and how beautiful she was, and what a valiant effort she gave to birth the foal. It seemed that the little one could almost understand Bella's words, and that emotions were expressed in her eyes. She couldn't speak it, but it seemed that she could understand "Human", too.

She was an amazing animal, but she couldn't speak "Unicorn".

Moonlight was definitely more comfortable with the girls of the family. Rosalie and Rachel could groom her and play with her, too, but not Renee so much, which puzzled Bella. Jasper couldn't even pet her, but he could come closer to her than any other man. She totally hid from anyone else.

While there was a lull in conversation on their ride home as Jasper looked at the horn, Bella thought back on the morning after Moonlight was born. True to her word, Bella had taken Jasper out to the place where the momma had fallen early the next morning, but the scavengers had been there, and some of the body was gone. Jasper could still see where the horn bad been. He had brought a sturdy shovel and they buried what was left. He was sad that such a beautiful animal came to such a sad end, yet it was still heroic how she held on until the baby was born. By a couple of weeks the weeds and grasses grew over the grave, and no one would know it was there but the two of them. Bella had immediately taken the horn and the hair and placed them in a box, tied it up with string and kept it under her side of the bed. Rosalie or Rachel had never even noticed it, though they shared the room. Now Alice had the box, and Bella kept the wrapped up horn with her in her backpack. She felt its connection to her that way. It was almost warm, loving. She figured when the time was right, she would know what to do with it, and just took comfort from it until then. They didn't talk about the momma very often after they buried her, and then, only in whispers.

Charlie knew that morning that they were going out to bury the mom, but didn't know that she wasn't just a wild goat. He watched Moonlight closely from a distance as she grew, however, and noticed some unusual things about her. She was very attached to Bella, which he understood, with how much time they spent together. He noticed the sparkle and intelligence in her eyes, and the daintiness in her step. Her shape was that of a filly, except there was something different about her forehead. She seemed to have an injury healing wrong or something on it. She was getting a lump on it. It was becoming more pronounced as the days crept by. Bella kept covering it with her bangs. Her coat color was lightening. Instead of the silver-grey color, it was getting whiter. The mane and tail were a bit longer that he expected to see on a goat or a horse, especially a wild one. She was weaned by then, and ate either with the goats or with the horses. He wasn't a very verbal man, though, and determined that he would watch and see how she grew, and talk with Bella more a little later. It wasn't like he could do more than watch her. She hid from him and any other male but Jasper. She was a pretty little thing, though.

One day in the middle of the week, as Bella was out with the goats and Moonlight, she noticed that the clouds were gathering as they approached the mountains. The breeze was picking up, and a summer storm seemed to be gathering. She gathered her flock and Moonlight and headed on home. Part of the way down the hills she met up with Rosalie, bringing home their flock of sheep for the same reason. It began to shower as they got home. They just got all of them safe and sound crowded in the barn when the rain began. Jasper brought in the cattle in the rain and put them under the trees for shelter, but everything was then secured. Rachel was just locking the hen house. The geese and ducks stayed at the pond. Father was just locking up the barn when the hail began. The lightning and thunder spooked some of the animals, and they clumped together for security. The family waited it out in the house.

This storm was worse than others had been, though. It seemed very localized, as if the clouds wanted to do their worse. It went on for an hour, and then eased up, finally dissipating. There had been a lot of rain in just that hour, too. However, the worst had been up against the mountain. Father and Jasper saddled up Flame and Breeze and rode out to check the crops for damage. Seth, Bella and Rosalie went out to check on the animals in the barn. Everything had been all right, but there was something that caught Bella's eye. The goats were all gathered close together, with Moonlight in the middle. She seemed to be softly whinnying to them, which had a calming effect on the whole flock. The odd thing was that the sheep were there, too. Even the dairy cows were facing her from their stalls. They were unusually calm, about which the family was glad.

When father and Jasper returned it was with good news. The fields had sustained some damage, but most of the crop was all right. The fruit trees, likewise, had minor damage. The fruit that hadn't ripened or been harvested was hit the worse. About a third of those had been pelted, but there were still the other two thirds left. The cattle were loathe to be herded from all that fallen fruit. The river below was a roaring rapid. The wash was full up to the edge of the floodplain. Some of the opposite edge of that bench had been washed away, but the side by the Swan residence was holding, being the inside of the slight bend of the river. Big boulders crashed into each other, and there were fallen trees and other debris rushing by in the roaring river. Their own stream was overflowing, and the pond was huge. The ducks and geese had taken shelter at the base of the tree during the storm, but were fine now.

It would take a week to clean everything up. It was this way each time there was a big storm, although this one was the biggest Charlie and Renee had seen in their twenty years on the farm. They were grateful that it hadn't been worse. They knelt together and thanked God, then got to work. The children left the animals in the barn and went out to the orchards with Renee to salvage what fruit they could find. There was a lot of fruit on the ground, but much was usable. It would still be good in jams and jellies. The rest on the trees could be processed when they were more ready. The vines were in better shape, but the children still brought in some strawberries, raspberries and blackberries. They would be very busy in the kitchen while the strong men worked on the outside damages.

The work was even more urgent when they heard the announcement that Sir Edward was coming to Twin Forks in just four days. They had much to prepare for their booth at market. A neighbor had a grown son named Paul who would rather earn a little money taking care of the livestock for the Swans than go to the fair himself. It would only be a few days, from Friday afternoon until Monday at lunchtime. He had been born and raised on the wheat and alfalfa farm and it would be a piece of cake for him. Charlie took him around, showing him what was needed for the animals, but he warned him about the goats. Their horns were coming in, and they loved to butt everything with them. Sometimes they bit. There was a filly that thought she was a goat like her surrogate goat mom that was shy. He needed to just leave her alone and she would be fine. The rooster would attack if he thought that Paul was threatening the hens and chicks. The ducks and geese just needed some grain in their little trough. He would need to slop the pigs. The cattle could stay in the corral and be fed alfalfa and hay. The most important thing was to milk the goats and cows twice a day, put the dairy products in the containers and keep them in the stream to keep cool and to gather the eggs in the morning from the chickens. He had done it all before, and Jasper had done it for his family when they needed it, as well. That's what neighbors were for.

True to their word, Bella and Jasper met Alice at the appointed time at the jewelry shop. They rode the horses in, rather than bring the whole wagon. Alice was so keyed up to do this that she was pacing back and forth when they walked in the door. It had been the rage a few years earlier to get a lock of the sweetheart and put it into a locket and wear it, so she took them right over to that display case. The lockets came in many shapes, sizes and colors .They looked right past the square and heart shaped ones, and to the circles. They decided to look at the pewter or silver colored lockets. Nothing really stood out to them, so they wandered around the store. Jasper was getting impatient, not being a jewelry sort of guy, but Alice was determined. Bella suddenly gasped, then called out to them, "Look at this one! I think I found it. What do you think?" When the others came around to her in the children's section Alice bounced up and down in glee. There was a small, circular locket in platinum. The background for the locket was navy blue, and there was just room for a ringed strand of hair. It looked sturdy, too. The link looked strong. It was fairly cheap, and they knew they had found their symbol.

"This is just the right thing!" she whispered to the others, excitedly. Jasper nodded his head in approval.

"Oh, yes!" Alice echoed quickly. "It will not draw anybody's attention, even on your watch, and it is demure as well. It's perfect. How much is it?"

"It is within our savings amount, and I vote that we get them!" Bella demanded of Jasper.

"You're right. It fits all of our requirements. Get the salesman. I'll pay for them, and we can go to your house, Alice to fix them for our needs. Let's do it!" Jasper agreed.

They purchased three of them on the spot. They rode over to Alice's house and went right into the parlor. Alice went right upstairs to get three strands of the precious mane. They each twisted a hair around and around until it was a tiny ring, opened the locket and carefully inserted the hair. They opened the links and hooked Jasper's onto his watch bob, and the girl's onto the chains they had bought to match. They were the Moonlight Defenders. They visited for half an hour longer, but had to part so Jasper and Bella would get home before dark. It had been a worthwhile trip.


	5. Chapter 5 - Twin Forks Fair

**Chapter 5 Twin Forks Fair**

June 7, 1859

There were eight county seats in the country. There were many towns and villages in addition to those larger ones. The royal entourage visited each major city for a day, the small town folk coming in for the day to see Sir Edward. The entourage watched as they traveled to see the crops and villages. It generally took weeks to do the whole country, which was roughly a day to visit each one, plus travel time. Sir Edward met with people every day, at every place they stopped. He got good at this because he paid attention to the people as they spoke to him. He watched their faces, their eyes, their hands, legs and posture. It was almost like he could read their minds to know whether they were speaking the truth, falsely, or holding something back. He could read their emotions as it was written over their entire body.

The minister met with the people, too. Generally there was a mix of topics from complaints to praises from those with whom they met. Some of the people were steered to the pertinent official, or the local judges for dispute settlements. Other times the officials felt like the person or group needed special recognition and recognized their accomplishments. One of the things they were looking for was successful innovations, after all, and rewarded them with prizes, recognition and sometimes contracts.

As they neared the end of the tour Sir Edward and his entourage were approaching the mountains and foothills. The source of the main river began in these very mountains and hills. They had just missed, thankfully, a big thunderstorm, but by the time they arrived, most of the damage was under control. Sir Edward was moody and kept to himself more, but was his regular self for his people. His head was pounding much of the trip, due to lack of sleep. The dreams were doubling up and instead of dreaming that either the girl or the unicorn were in danger, he dreamed that they both were together and in danger. He was supposed to go help them, but when he got there he didn't know what to do. They always seemed to be just out of reach, or around the corner. It would end up that he, too, would be in danger, and that they would all die if they couldn't meet up and work together. The healer was no help, either. His sleeping potions trapped Edward in the dream, instead of allowing him to awaken. Therefore he just plowed on with his duties.

The tents were set up in Twin Forks as soon as they arrived, and they settled in for the night. As was his habit, Sir Edward wandered through the city, watching the townsfolk's preparations and talking with the parents and their children, casually. He passed out little candies and coins to the kids. It was a little public relations action that had been helpful since the elders were the children in the days of Sir Edward the Just. It didn't hurt that the first impression on a young mind was a smile and a bit of sweets or a coin. Those with regular city shops had banners and sales advertised in the windows and doorways. Those folk who came in from the remote towns and villages set up tents, tables or carts with the family's wares. The night before the fair they would set up and then get to sleep in preparation for the big day to follow and the party in the evening.

The Swans were one of those families who set up their tent Friday evening at the market place in town and got everything ready for the weekend. Renee got the children down to bed, and Charlie went on a walk with Jasper. Bella and Rose wandered up and down the streets to get the lay of the land, so to speak. They were actually sent out by Renee to see what the competition was, and what people were charging for goods similar to hers, but also to find things she hoped to purchase.

Jasper didn't go far before he turned to Charlie. "Father, I have been courting Alice for months now. I love her dearly and would like to ask her father for permission to marry her. Do I have your blessing and permission to proceed?"

"I can see how you have worked to prepare yourself for this. You are no longer a boy; you are a man, capable of starting your own household and family. Yes, you have our blessing," he said with a grin and a twinkle in his eye. "Where will you live? What do you want to do for a living?"

"I love what we do, father, except I'd like to work more with horses. Alice and I have talked about it, of course and what we would like to do is to homestead the property across the road from your land and build a little cabin on it and start horse ranching. It wouldn't make a lot of money, especially to begin with, but we would be able to provide for just the two of us, plus we would still be close to you, with our land for the horses. We would be within driving distance of her family and town. She can continue working on her knitting and weaving and take those things into town on market days to sell. My stock wouldn't be in competition with yours. We can grow crops you don't and share. We can have mother teach Alice how to garden and preserve things, too. How does that sound to you?" he finished and looked hopefully to Charlie for his opinion.

"It looks like you have it all mapped out. I'm proud of you, son. Go get her!" and Jasper took off like a shot. Charlie turned around and walked back to the tent to tell Renee. She wouldn't be surprised. She had been wondering what was taking him so long to ask her.

Rose loved the city. She oohed and aahed at every window of every shop. When they got to the other end of the town's main street, there was a big open shop with a huge fire pit inside. They were drawn in by the warmth and by the friendly blacksmith. He was working on a big scythe and called in his son to help him balance it while he pounded on the red hot metal. "Emmet! Where did you go, son? Come here and help me!" he said as he wiped his brow.

"Here I am, pops, I went to get an apple. I don't think I can make to dinner time. Sorry," he said as he ducked down to hold the metal with the clamps. Emmet was a big boy. He was actually Bella's age, and they had gone to school together. "Oh, hi, Bella. Here for the big day tomorrow?" he asked.

"Yes, we brought our usual. Do you remember my sister Rosalie?" she asked.

He looked up and about dropped the clamp and the scythe blade he was working on. "Well I don't think that we've ever met. I'm Emmet, and I would shake your hand if I could, but maybe I can later," he said hopefully. He couldn't help but notice her long blonde hair and dazzling blue eyes. She had grown up since they finished school. If he had ever put down his practice sword or the ball he was throwing to other boys, he might have seen her, but she still had changed in the years between. Two years ago he probably wouldn't have noticed her as anything but just another little girl. His family sat in church with the town folk and they sat with the country folk, so he hadn't noticed her at church, either. He noticed her now, though.

Bella laughed at his dazed expression and looked at her sister to see what she thought. She just stood there looking at him. He was big. He was very big. Right now he was also wearing a shirt that had seen better days and was tight, wet with swear, and dirty. She didn't seem to mind, though. Her eyes traveled from his dimples to his muscular chest and stomach, down to his toes, and back up. "Oh, dear," said Bella, "Well, we've got to go back to our tent. _Father _will get worried if we are gone very long. The shadows are getting long. Bye, Emmet!"

"Bye, Bella, it was nice to meet you. Rosalie. I'll look for you tomorrow!" he called. His father smirked and kicked his foot a bit. "What did I do?" he asked and his father laughed.

Rosalie was blushing as red as a rose. "Don't you say a word, Bella. Please don't mention this to mother or father," she plead. Bella laughed as they turned the corner.

Edward was headed to the smithy. He had known him since his first tour when his father introduced him as the best smithy in the country. He made sure to visit him each time he was in town. Also, his sword blade needed sharpening. He was just coming to the corner with the shop was when he heard a laugh. It was as if he had heard it before, but he couldn't place it. He stopped and looked around the intersection, but didn't see anyone. He paused, trying to remember where he had heard it before, to identify the person. No luck. He went ahead to visit the McCartys. He had also become friends with Emmet, the son, who was only two years younger than him. He would puzzle about the laugh later when he was unable to sleep during the night.

Jasper knocked carefully on the door. Alice's father opened the door and greeted him warmly, "Well, if it isn't Jasper! Did you come to town for the fair with your family? Good to see you. Should I go and get Alice?"

"No, Sir, I would like to talk with you first, alone," his voice cracked and his knees shook. He wished that he could return the big smile he was given, but he was so scared he thought he might vomit if he opened his mouth too far.

"Okay. Let's sit in the parlor," and he led the way. Mr. Brandon sat down on the comfortable couch and Jasper tried to sit in the chair across from it. Jasper couldn't stay seated. He stood and paced the floor a couple of times, cleared his throat and dove right in, since Mr. Brandon was so patiently waiting for what he guessed had a lot to do with his pretty daughter.

"Mr. Brandon, Sir, I have known your daughter since I started school many years ago. She is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. She is so gifted and talented. I have been courting her for months and I can't stand waiting any more. I want to ask her to marry me and so I now ask your permission. I'll take good care of her and cherish her until my dying breath. May I ask her to marry me, please?" his words tumbled out. There was sweat beginning to line his brow. His hands absolutely quivered. His eyes pleaded.

"Well I can't say that this is a surprise. I knew this day would come soon enough. I love my daughter more than anything in the world but my wife. She is my most precious jewel. But I can't keep her in my home forever. I can just look to make sure that the man who takes her from me will love and protect her as I have. I think that man is you, Jasper. Yes, you have my permission to ask her," he concluded.

Jasper almost keeled right over he was so happy and relieved. He had wanted him to agree so hard that he didn't trust his ears. He wanted to make sure that he heard him say what he had hoped for, "You said 'Yes'?"

Mr. Brandon smiled and shook his hand, "I said 'Yes' Now you have to get her to say it, too. I think she is in the kitchen with her mother. Shall I go get her and bring her in here to you? " Jasper could only nod his head violently. He had no power of speech.

Alice had not heard the knock on the door, and was totally unsuspicious of what was going on in the parlor. When her father came to fetch her, he didn't tell her a thing. She didn't know who was waiting for her, nor why. When her father ushered her in, and closed the door behind him (totally out of character for him) she was stumped. Why was he closing her up in the parlor? From behind her someone cleared his throat. She jumped in surprise and turned to him, "Why Jasper, I didn't know you were here!" He came over to her and bent down on one knee. She froze in shock.

"Alice Brandon, I have loved you almost all of my life. You are my life. You are on my mind and in my heart every waking minute, and most of the night you are in my dreams. I want to live my life with you, have a family with you, grow old with you and when our bodies are laying next to each other in the grave, my soul will have the eternities with yours. I want you to complete me, to corral me, to correct me and to caress me. I love you body and soul. Will you do me the honor of marrying me and being my wife, please?"

She stood there frozen on the spot, except for the tears streaking down here lovely face and over her smile. She didn't say a word. Was that good or bad? "Well, Alice, will you marry me?"

That seemed to break her from her frozen state. "Oh YES! I will marry you, my sweetest man, I will marry you!" She threw herself at him and he barely caught her, having to stand up first. He hugged her as tightly as she did him, and the next thing he knew she was kissing him, right on the lips! It was heaven! There was a sound coming from across the room. Oh! It was her father and mother, entering into the room, followed by Quil. Mrs. Brandon quickly reached back and covered Quil's eyes. Hers were swimming in tears of joy for her daughter. Mr. Brandon was grinning at them. He knew that his wife's interrogation was about to commence. He felt slightly sorry for the boy.

Renee was up at the crack of dawn rousing her family, feeding them breakfast and getting the goods on the table and ready to sell. Charlie had told her what Jasper was doing, so she wasn't surprised that he got back late. She went to sleep knowing that he would wake her when he got in with the news. She was happy for them. She was glad that they would not move far away, and looked forward to having a new family member and a companion for her firstborn son, Jasper. Everyone would know by the end of the dance. They could announce it there. She would need to talk with Mrs. Brandon and they could pick which First Sunday would be best for the wedding. But today was a busy day and no one was going to buy anything of theirs if she didn't get everyone on task.

They put out bushel baskets of apples and peaches, little baskets of berries, some wheat and barley by the ten pound bag. She had eggs, butter, cheeses, curds and whey, cream and milk. They brought a couple of goats and a few sheep and tethered them nearby if anyone needed to buy one. She had jams, jellies and dried apricots, pears, apples and cherries. She was ready for business.

Hordes of people usually came to this semi-annual special market day. When everything was set up, Renee called the children to her. She announced, "Your father and I can handle our booth. You are free to go all around to see the sights until noon, as long as you stay together."

"Mother, you want me to stay with the children?" were the first words out of Jasper's mouth. "I was going to go get Alice and spend the day with her," he whined.

"Oh, what a good idea, all of you can go get her and stay together!"

He groaned, but could see that it was the best thing to do. "All right, I'm leaving now. Anyone not coming will have to stay here the rest of the morning with mother." There was a sudden rush for the doorway. They walked in a group to the Brandon's house. Alice and Quil got permission to go with the Swan clan as long as they stayed together. It was the same at the Call's house when they went to invite Embry. Soon there were nine footloose and carefree kids roaming and exploring. It was Liam and Rachel's first outing in Twin Forks, so spirits were high.

"I want to go to the park!" shouted little Rachel, so off they went, staying far away from the riverbanks. One adventure there was enough for the older ones, and they went all over the rest of the park.

"I'm hungry," called out Liam, so they stopped and ate the snack that had been sent. With five males ranging in age from ten to nineteen, food was always an issue.

The fragrance of food was everywhere. Quil inhaled deeply as they passed a bakery. His stomach growled and he looked to the sky. Jasper, what time is it? The sun looks pretty high in the sky."

"You're right, it is just before noon," Jasper answered. The watch bob jiggled as he replaced the pocket watch in his watch pocket. It had been a birthday present from his parents on his last birthday. He turned to Alice, "We had better get you home before they call out the hounds. I don't want to break any promises with your folks on my first day as your fiancé." She giggled.

"Rosalie, why don't you and Bella come to my house later to get dressed for the dance? Do you think your parents would approve?" Alice inquired.

"I'm sure it will be all right. I never get everything on correctly by myself," Bella added.

Rosalie snickered, "That is for sure." Bella gave her the evil eye, and then they laughed.

"Besides, I have something to show you. It's my latest project for a special lady." She winked at Bella.

"Really? I would love to see it!" enthused Bella.

"Okay, see you at about six!" called Alice as the left the house.

Jasper led them through the grass just outside the town meeting hall so that the youngsters could see it all decked out and ready for Sir Edward and his group. Jasper would come back with his parents for the meeting. After all, a man who is old enough to get married is old enough to sit through a three or four hour meeting. Bella and Rosalie would stay at the tent, watch the younger children, pack the goods and fix their dish to share. Bella was definitely not sad to miss a meeting which was that long.

They were pretty much all of the way across the lawn when a commotion indicated that Sir Edward was entering the area. He stopped continually to shake hands with people and children of all ages, greeting many of them by name. The group got to a puppet theater not very far from the Swan's tent and they got a better look at the entourage. "Which one is Sir Edward?" Jasper asked a lady near them. He had stayed home with the livestock for the last couple of years and so he didn't know what he looked like.

"Oh, he is the young one with copperish, bronze hair," she replied.

Bella and Rose looked around until they found him, and their eyes bugged out at the sight. "He is so young and so handsome, and friendly!" Bella's stomach did a flip.

"I call him, he's mine!" laughed Rose.

"No, he's mine! You can have Emmet" argued Bella, and then she laughed. Imagining the thought of a nobleman like him even noticing either of them was a joke. She laughed again.

Sir Edward stopped in his tracks. The laugh! It was the same laugh as last night! The same as in…in…His DREAM! He has heard that laugh in the dream of the pale skinned, brown eyed and haired girl who needs him in his dream. He whipped around to see who was near him. Dozens of people were near him. He was tall, and stood on his tip toes to find her. Where is the chestnut colored hair? Who has that laugh? He was going mad. People were beginning to throng him, in order to shake his hand. He turned back towards the market square. There were a lot of brunette haired women! Most of the women here had brunette hair, but hers was different, redder. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the hair. He turned straight to her, trying to see her face. It was as if she knew he was looking for her as she turned around to sneak one more peek at him. His eyes grabbed hers and he knew he had found the girl from his dreams. They stood still for almost a full minute before the blonde girl with her grabbed her arm and dragged her away. NO! He had to go to her, to find her to help her with whatever it was that was threatening her. But the crowd was too much for him. He couldn't break free from them, and he was dragged by his guards into the building to start the meeting. He settled down, telling himself that surely she would be at the dance, and he could find her there. Maybe he could ask her to dance. Then he could touch her hand; maybe put his arms around her for a slow dance…

Bella and Rosalie giggled for an hour about which one of them would be Sir Edward's girlfriend. They put away all of the fruits, vegetables and other things that were left at the end of market day. They had sold two thirds of all that they brought, so it wasn't as hard of a job as it had been to pack it all up to get there. They had had a long day, and when there was no more to do they lay down with the little ones and took a nap. The tent was hot in the afternoon, so they left the flap open. Seth was outside watching the goat that was left, and the horses. He marched around their area like the soldiers that guarded Sir Edward's area.

"Well, what was it?" the man who was standing up asked loudly. "I was at the park that day and saw it with my own two eyes. It was milky and white, just come drifting down in the water like it had a right to," he had everyone's attention. "Anything it touched was dead before you could count the fingers on your hand. It didn't matter if it was plant or animal. It died. Some kids found it and almost waded into it! We drink river water! We use it for our crops and animals! Is our water safe?"

"I also was there, Sir Edward. My name is Jasper Swan. I was at the park with my sister, Bella, my fiancée, Alice, her brother, Quil Brandon, and his friend, Embry Call. They are the ones who discovered it. We are blessed that they didn't touch it, because they almost did just that. We know no more that that, Sir." _Except for the antidote being unicorn hair, of course, he thought. _

"Thank you, Mr. Swan for your testimony. Your name has been recorded in case there are further questions," rang Sir Edward's voice. _He knows more. He's hiding something. We will certainly be talking with him again._

Sir Edward turned to Michael, the city healer, who reported, "We have never seen anything like it before. Every living thing we tried to touch it with, died. Nothing I know will counteract it. I tried everything, Sir."

He turned to the healer that came with him on the tour. "I concur with Michael. Between us we have a great deal of experience and knowledge, but this is something totally new to us."

Sir Edward continued the questions, "What happened to the substance that was found?"

The mayor stepped forward, "We were able to get a couple of large barrels full of it, which was the vast majority of what was seen. We used some of it for testing and experiments. When we got to the end of what we could do we sealed it up and put it into storage. We didn't know what to do with it. If we threw it into the water, it would spread destruction. If we poured it out, it would kill the plants in the vicinity. If we had an enemy or a person guilty of a capital crime, maybe we could have found a use for it, but didn't think that that was good, either," he joked. It fell flat. "Only one guard and I know where the location is, and we're not telling. We took an oath that whoever leaked the secret location would have to drink some." Some people grimaced. All we can do is to keep a watch on the river upstream. It wasn't related to the thunderstorm, because that was after the fact. We have no idea. I'm sorry, Sir Edward."

Sir Edward stood and faced the people. "I am sad that this vile substance tainted your water. I am thankful that your quick action contained it from harming anything further than it did. With no crime committed as far as we can tell, this must be a freak of nature. All we can do is to be vigilant in watching your water source, the river. Test the wells as quickly as you can to be assured that your drinking water is good. Watch your crops and livestock against sudden, unexplained deaths. Document anything you find, and keep in touch with my office at the Ministry of Agriculture in the capitol. We are extremely interested in this case. It will be kept as an open case until it is solved. Good work Mayor Uley. Your quick action may have saved many lives. Next action?" _Will this meeting never end?_ he thought.

Bella checked the Dutch oven to make sure the apple crisp was, in fact, crisp. It was perfect, and a good contribution to the town meal. The meeting was finally over and people were streaming home to prepare for the night's meal and party. As soon as her parents returned Rosalie and Bella were ready to leave. Jasper was anxious to accompany them to Alice's house. "Are you coming? What's taking you so long? You look fine; you are going there to get all fancy. What are you doing to take so long?" he pestered them. They finally had all that they needed and were hard pressed to keep up with him. If it wasn't so irritating they would have been amused, like Renee was. He jumped over the picket fence and sprinted to the door to knock on it. Quil answered it and let them in, as soon as the girls caught up to him.

'"What's your rush? It will still take us an hour to get ready."

"I am at last under the same roof as my love!" he sighed dramatically. Mr. Brandon and Quil laughed. They would have to deal with the lovesick puppy while they prepared themselves.

Alice came from the kitchen and rushed over to him, still only allowed to hold hands. "Would you like to see my latest handiwork?" That put Jasper to rights, even if it was temporarily.

"Oh yes!" they all answered at once. They eagerly followed her to her work room. When she turned up the lamp there was the most beautiful almost-done blanket that could ever have existed on earth. She had worked it from the bottom to the top. There was a white fringe around the three sides. The fringe was so delicate and silky and it almost glowed in the dark. It was perfect. Jasper and Bella looked at each other, and then back to the blanket. The center was a midnight blue sky, complete with stars and a one quarter moon shining down past their mountains onto their pond. There was a white unicorn in the foreground in front of the pond, with white swans swimming behind it. It truly was Moonlight. They stood transfixed, each subconsciously fingering their talisman.

"So, do you like it?" Alice asked, hesitantly.

"Oh, Alice! It is perfect! It is absolutely our Moonlight! Thank you so very much!" Bella replied. "No one could have done this but you. Thank you, thank you!" she cried, literally.

"Wait a minute. You made this for our little Moonlight? Wow! It is stunning. It took my breath away! Alice, there are no words for its beauty," murmured Rose. "We will treasure this forever." She turned to Bella, "How did you talk her into doing this? We can't pay her what it is worth. Why is Moonlight a unicorn?"

"Bella and Jasper saved Quil and Embry's lives at the river. How can I ever repay them? Now I will simply marry Jasper and get to be his wife until we die. How much more can I want?" she whispered. Jasper just grabbed her and hugged her again. She allowed it for a minute, and then pushed him away. "We are not married yet, dearest. Don't get carried away. Now we need to get dressed. Go downstairs and impress daddy and momma while we get ready." He reluctantly left without a word. He did, however, kiss her hand.

It did take the whole hour to dress, do hair and primp their faces to perfection. They descended the stairs like the Queens of Sheba. "Oh, my! My little girl is all grown up. Tonight we tell the whole town that we have to share her now," her father whispered. Dark haired, blue eyed Alice was wearing a lovely baby blue gown of satin, with bows and ruffles all around. Blond Rosalie was wearing her best red dress. It wasn't silk or satin, but it fit her well. Bella had a midnight blue full skirted dress accented with white lace around the neckline, skirt and sleeves. They were a sight to see.

"Well you cleaned up nice." Quil remarked. He turned to Alice and quipped, "Does this mean that I have to dance with you?"

"No one HAS to dance if they don't want to," answered Alice. "But, personally, my dance card is full. Right sweetheart?"

"Absolutely!" grinned Jasper.

"What are we waiting for?" demanded Rosalie, "Let's GO!" and they all trooped out the door. Mr. Brandon had readied the carriage, so they even got to ride to the dinner and dance. The Swan girls felt like Cinderellas.


	6. Chapter 6 - The Dinner and Dance

**Chapter 6 The Dinner and Dance**

Sir Edward had never been as anxious to get to dinner as he was tonight.

_Is it time yet_? No, another twenty minutes. He ran his fingers through his hair while he paced in his tent. He would soon sit at the head table where he could see everyone, including his dream girl, he hoped. He wanted to meet her and dance with her, hold her and talk with her, to get to know her, and find out what she needed from him so that he could do whatever it is, and try to make her love him. Love Him? Now there is a thought.

_Is it time yet_? No, another fifteen minutes of this torture. He paced some more. He must not appear to show preference to finding her. It was his royal duty.

Finally the tent door was opened. His under-Sir of agriculture, Tyler, entered and asked, "Sir, are you ready?"

"I am more than ready! Let's GO!" he called to Tyler over his shoulder. He closed his astonished mouth and struggled to catch up to Sir Edward. He figured that Sir Edward was just happy to be finished. In the morning when they packed the tents, the wagons would leave for home by the roads, but the entourage would board the ship that was at anchored at the pier and float quickly downstream to Portsmmouth. The other men would be in their own beds with their own wives in two nights. Happy thoughts! They'd be done for another six months. Surely by then whatever was bothering Sir Edward will have been taken care of.

The doors opened, the trumpets blew, and Sir Edward entered, all smiles, looking through the crowds, searching already. He put on his automatic smile and waved at the bowing and curtseying people as he walked to the podium. He knew many of the people of this area. Why had he never seen her before these awful dreams tortured him? She was so lovely that he wanted to meet her, regardless of the dreams_. To what family does she belong? To which father will I plead for her hand in marriage? WHAT? Where did that thought come from? Back up; just find her so that you can find out what she needs so you can sleep at night. Simple. Uh-huh._

The welcomes and introductions only took about fifteen minutes. It was then time for him to go look at the thousands of dishes of food, and choose something to eat from among them. The royal chef would go right behind him to try to tell what the food was. If he or Sir Edward took a little taste and liked it, the person who brought it was called up so they could shake their hand and get the recipe. They got a certificate of appreciation, everyone got fed, and the cook got recognition. Except that at this point he didn't have his mind on the food, He was still looking for HER. She had to be here somewhere! Smile, Edward, smile.

He took samples of many dishes. He shook the hands of many cooks and commended them, but none of the dishes were hers, unfortunately. By the time he sampled a hundred little bites of a hundred dishes, he was full. The people had followed his example by forming lines around the tables of food and filling their plates. He returned to his table setting at the center of the podium and was seated. He picked up his goblet of water and swallowed it down. He looked at the goblet again, into the water. Wow, this water was good. He took another sip and it was the same. He turned to Tyler and asked, "Have you tasted the water yet?"

"No, I was tasting the wine. Water is water, but there are big differences between wines!" he answered, "Should I taste the water?"

"Yes, definitely!"

Tyler obediently picked up his water goblet, treated it as if he were sampling wine, swirling and sniffing. He took a bit in his mouth and swished it around. It was a tiny bit different, but not remarkably so. He swallowed it and took a regular drink of the water. By this time, those around were curiously watching them. They looked at their own water goblets, and tasted the water. It tasted fine. It was fairly good, but not that good. They went back to their meals and wines. Tyler looked back at Sir Edward, who was watching him expectantly. He took a gulp, swallowed it and replied, "Sir Edward, this is water. It is clear and refreshing. It clears my palette and quenches my thirst. For what more am I looking?" He thought of a story he had heard once of an emperor and something to do with a new outfit he wore to a parade. What more should he say to Edward?

Sir Edward was confused. Couldn't Tyler taste the sweetness? "From whose well does this water come?" Edward called out. The waiter brought in the barrel. "The brand on the side identifies it as being from the Swan Farm, Sir." He didn't remember the Swan name. "Prepare a certificate for purity of drinking water, Sir," he whispered to Tyler. "This area needs clean water. They are having a problem with water. This rancher might know how to purify it for them."

"Yes, Sir, I see, Sir," he rushed to the stack of certificates to fill one out.

Sir Edward called out, "Will the owner of the Swan Farm come forward, please?"

From the far end of the room a man stood up, confusion written on his face. He was fairly average, except his hair was not just brown; it was chestnut, reddish brown. And his eyes were the right color of chocolate brown, but not the right shape. Sir Edward watched him come forward to the stand. Perhaps he was related to the girl. "Is this your water?"

He looked at the barrel. "It has my brand on the barrel Sir, may I taste test it?" He looked puzzled. No one had noticed water before.

"Of course," answered Tyler.

Charlie took a small glass, dipped it into the water and drank some. "I recognize this as water from my stream, Sir. Yes, this is mine. It tastes a little bit different from the river water. We like it better," he added.

"I commend you for the purity of your water. The flavor is superb. Do you do anything to it, or is it like this from the source?" Sir Edward continued.

"We live on the bench above the river. There is a spring and a stream to which I own all the rights. It flows from the spring, across the property and past the house to our pond. It percolates down to the river through the earth, Sir," he answered, blushing nervously.

"Thank you very much for sharing with us," concluded Sir Edward, "Please give my assistant, Tyler your contact information."

Charlie bowed and then returned to his place. He was unaware that Sir Edward had watched him minutely, and saw no guile or deceit. The blush that colored his face and neck seemed more from being singled out than from telling lies. But his pale skin coloring before the blush took over intrigued the nobleman. He tried not to seem obvious as he watched him return to his seat. It was no wonder why he hadn't noticed him before; his seat was in the furthest corner. There were a lot of people back there, and he was sitting amidst a big group. They all hugged and kissed him as he reached his place. It would be too obvious for Sir Edward to follow him to his seat, so he sat tight, watching. There was a face in that crowd that Sir Edward recognized, though. What did he say his name was? Joshua? no…James? no…Jeremy? John? Jeremiah? Jasper? No…WAIT, Yes! I saw him earlier at the hearing on the tainted water. The WATER? What was it with the Swans and their water? Plus, this Jasper told the truth, but not the whole truth. He was hiding something from him, and it had to do with the water.

When the crowd was pretty much done eating, and had begun cleaning up the area, Mayor Uley thanked everyone for coming to share the dinner and dismissed everyone to go to the park where lanterns and festive banners had been hung for the dance. There was a raised platform on one end that had been built years ago for speeches and bands any time there was a gathering there. The band was already playing as people arrived. Some began right in dancing, others settled down on blankets or whatever they brought to sit on. Some families headed home from the dinner. Sir Edward fervently hoped that the Swan family was going to stay. He wanted to hold her in his arms while they danced. If they didn't stay, he would go and find them now that he had their location. No sense drawing undue attention to his obsession. He watched people file in. He was getting nervous. She had seemed to be dressed up, so he had assumed that they would attend the dance, but there were many entrances to the park.

Every so often someone would request to make a family announcement between songs. On the first such short break Mr. Brandon climbed up on the stage with a couple of others. When it was his turn he called out, "My friends and neighbors. My daughter, Alice has consented to marry Jasper Swan at the First Sunday meeting in June. We are all pleased and invite any who would like to be there at the church! Alice and Jasper, come on up so everyone can see you!" There was applause and cheering as they ascended the stage. Sir Edward couldn't help but smile widely and clapping for them. However, he closely watched to see where they went when they took their seats. Theirs was not the only announcement, but it was all Sir Edward heard. As he watched Mr. Brandon settle back into the crowd he noted, happily, that they returned to not only Mr. Swan but also Emmet and his father. Those two were tall enough to see in the crowd. The women must be there, too.

Sir Edward decided that it was time for action, when the announcements were all done. He would be discreet, however, and do the handshake thing until he made his way around there, but he would skip a lot of people as he did it. To be polite, he approached his old family friend, "Sean McCarty, it is so good to see you again. And Emmet, it has been a year since I last saw you. You've put on some muscle. It looks good. I was on my way to see you last night when I got side tracked, so I'm glad to see you now. Who is this pretty girl, Emmet, someone you have been hiding?" he teased, pointing his chin toward the lovely blonde Rose. Sir Edward recognized her from his afternoon sighting.

"We evidently went to school together, but I was too involved in playing games with the guys to notice girls. Bella had to introduce us again last night. Sir Edward, may I introduce you to Rosalie Swan, Miss Swan, this is Sir Edward Cullen, Minister of Agriculture." She curtseyed.

She blushed as Sir Edward inquired, "Are you any relation to the Jasper Swan who testified at today's hearing, or whose engagement was just announced, or the Charlie Swan who has the best water in the region?"

"Why, yes, Charlie is my father and Jasper is my big brother," she answered shyly. "Would you like to meet my family?" He almost quivered with excitement.

"Nothing would please me more," he answered strongly. He followed Emmet and Rosalie over to the rest of her family.

"Father, Sir Edward asks to be introduced to our family," she stepped back so Charlie could come forward from the corner.

"Sir Edward, it is an honor for me to introduce you to my wife, Renee, my sons Seth and Liam, and my daughter Rachel," each one shook his hand and bowed or curtseyed. "My son, Jasper is over with the Brandons with his fiancée, Alice," he paused and turned his head around. "Oh, there she is! Bella! Come here," he called. Finally, FINALLY! The girl in his dreams turned to greet him! Her name was Bella. "Bella, may I present you to Sir Edward Cullen, Minister of Agriculture. Sir Edward, this is my second born child and oldest daughter, Bella."

She curtseyed, and he took her hand to raise her up. There was jolt of electricity starting at his hand, speeding up his arm, and into his heart, which skipped a beat. The sudden jerk and her raised eyebrows indicated that she had felt it as well. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Sir Edward. I have heard so much about you," she blushed as she answered. The blush matched that of her father earlier.

"Let me assure you, the pleasure is all mine," and he kissed her knuckles. Bella was surprised at the kiss. Jasper wasn't allowed to kiss Alice's hand until now, when they were engaged. Charlie noted the kiss, as well, as he scowled. "May I have the extreme pleasure of a dance with you?" he added.

Bella looked him in the eyes and the green threatened to swallow her whole. She stood there speechless for a second, turned and looked to Charlie, who looked him up and down before nodding once in consent. "Yes, you may." Sir Edward took her by the hand and led her out onto the floor. Jasper and Alice were just arriving there, too, and they joined hands for the circle dance. When Emmet noticed that Bella was going to dance with Sir Edward, he took courage and turned to Rosalie.

"May I have this dance? You promised we could dance," he asked, looking deep into her pretty blue eyes.

"Of course you may. I was wondering when you would ask. I have been waiting," she smiled. He led her out to the floor and joined with Bella and Jasper. The steps were fairly easy, and yet sprightly. It was good exercise, and soon their cheeks were pink with exertion, but smiles were on every face. Charlie and Renee brought Liam and Rachel out to join in, but Seth wanted nothing to do with dancing. He went over to his friends and they amused themselves laughing at the others. A line dance and a square dance followed. It was exhilarating, but exhausting.

"Bella, can we go for a walk? I have something I would like to talk with you about," queried Sir Edward.

"I cannot go walking with you alone. Who shall we take with us?" she asked.

He thought about it for a minute, remembering Jasper's unspoken truth, "How about Jasper. He would be a good third wheel."

"I have been his third wheel; it's time for him to be mine. Let's ask father. I would love to walk around with you."

"Jasper, we want to go for a walk, not very far, just where we can talk without all of this noise. Will you be our chaperone, please?" Bella pleaded.

He looked at Alice and replied, "Sure, if I can take Alice. Let's ask father."

The four of them walked up to Charlie and they all looked to Sir Edward. He gulped and went up to him. "Mr. Swan, I would like to take a walk with Bella where we can actually hear one another. If Jasper and Alice come with us, may we, please?"

Charlie was startled that Sir Edward was showing such a preference to his daughter. He had never heard of him showing any preference to anyone in any city, anywhere in Columbia. He looked at Bella, whose eyes were pleading with him to agree. Hm-m-m. That is interesting. She'd never shown a preference for anyone, either. He looked to Edward, who was clearly deferring to his authority as her father, but just as clearly wanting to do it. His respect was admirable. He looked at Jasper and Alice, who seemed ready to go as well. "You may, as long as you stay together, stay nearby, and behave yourselves. You have 30 minutes."

They didn't waste any time and Jasper led the way to a spot where there were some log benches not far away, still in the lit area. Bella, Jasper and Alice sat down. Sir Edward took the lead in the conversation pacing as he spoke. "I must be bold and speak to you as if we had known each other longer than a few minutes because the time is short." He turned to address her, "Bella, ever since the end of March I have been having dreams. They left me frustrated and tired every morning, having taken half of my night's sleep. I could not figure out what the dreams were about or what I could do about them. I knew that I needed to help, but not who to go to, or what they meant.

"The dream is about saving a girl with chestnut brown hair and deep, chocolate, eyes. Her skin is pale and her face is heart-shaped. She's so beautiful that I can't speak. She is sweet, innocent, shy and pure. She is perfect, and I can't help but fall in love with her. When the dream begins she is happy and laughs. However, as the dream progresses something dark threatens her to the point of almost taking her life. I am always desperate to protect her, provide for her and save her. And then, just as I rush to her, I wake up, helpless, unable to anything. She is you, Bella, yours is the face I see, I know it, and I can feel it.

"There is also a poison in the land. People are sick and dying. I am the Minister of Agriculture and know the people in my jurisdiction. In my dream they call out to me to save them. Storms begin and mud slows down transportation. Communication gets clogged. The healers try to help, but don't know what they can do to stop the plague. Plants die. Animals die. People die, calling my name to help them, and blaming me when I can do nothing. Finally at the end of the dream there is a light in the distance. It comes nearer and nearer, running in the water. When it gets close enough for me to recognize what it is, I can't believe it. There is a unicorn standing before me, chest deep in the water, which is now clean, and I wake up." He looked at the three of them.

Bella, Jasper and Alice looked at each other. They all wore guilty expressions.

"I arrived here last night and was walking to the blacksmith when I heard the happy laughter from the beginning of my dreams. I turned and looked in every direction, but could see no one. It happened again in the square this morning near a puppet show, but I still couldn't find my dream girl. I was informed at the town meeting that there had been a problem with the water. I finally saw you from afar just before the meeting and was stunned. You are more beautiful than my dream girl. Your voice is like crystal bells to my ears. But the crowd made it impossible to go to you, though I tried.

"Your brother gave testimony this morning about the tainted water, but he held something back." He turned to face him, "Jasper, you know something that you have held back. You did not tell us all that you know. I can feel it. You have a secret, and now, watching the three of you, I see that you are not the only one who is aware of more than what was reported. If my dream comes true, there is a great evil coming our way. It has the potential to destroy much of our land. Many will die of the pestilence itself or for thirst or famine if we cannot stop it. There is no such thing as a unicorn, and I don't know what it could do to fix it, even if I could find one." He shook his head and his shoulders hung low. His fingers dug through his hair. "What does this all mean? How can I stop a plague that we can't find? How can I save you? You aren't even in danger. Is the unicorn symbolic? What has a unicorn got to do with anything? What do I do? You know more than I do. What do you know? How can I save you and my people?" He crumbled to the floor at her feet, bowing his head in frustrations, holding his head with his hands.

Alice looked at Bella and then at Jasper. "I think we will need another watch bob", she whispered. They gasped at her.

"Are you kidding me?" Jasper said.

"We must tell him, Jasper. We must help him by working together," she gazed into his eyes. "Remember, I saw it, too, just as he described it. We need to help each other," she affirmed. "We may not know what is coming, or how to stop it, but I heard somewhere that to be forewarned is to be forearmed. Maybe we can nip it in the bud before it gets as bad as he and I have seen."

Bella looked at Alice, then Jasper and finally at Sir Edward, who was looking back at her earnestly. "No one must know. Send your people home to Portsmouth, but come with us to our home. We will share with you what we know."

"Yes, of course! I will go with you in the morning! No one will notice in the mayhem of the ship and caravan setting off."

"Ship?" Bella asked curiously.

"This is the last stop in our tour. The easiest and fastest way home from here is to sail down the river straight down the Columbia. The caravan will carry the tents and goods by road, but we usually sail. I will write a letter to my father and Captain Garrett will deliver it to him safely. He won't allow me to stay alone, though. I will ask him to choose one guard to stay with me. Tyler can give my spoken report to my father until I arrive. Those on the ship will think I went overland. Those in the caravan will think I am on the ship. Only Tyler and Garrett will know. How about you? Won't it be noticed if you don't stay for church services in the morning?"

"No, although we stay most of the time, it is not unusual for those of us who live far away to leave first thing on Sunday morning. We'll have to do something with you to make you blend in with us, though," she snickered.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Don't you think that the whole town would notice that Sir Edward, with his clean nice clothes and saddles rides with us? We haven't exactly been inconspicuous, dancing with each other tonight although I enjoyed it. More than a few of the women have already been gossiping behind their fans while looking at us. It would even be scandalous for you to go home with us," she amended.

"I'll take care of that. I'll meet you a couple of miles outside of town first thing in the morning," he commanded. "We have a lot to do before then. We should walk back to the dance and greet others of your neighbors. We'll go our separate ways from there for appearance's sake. Will your parents agree?" He turned toward the crowd. "I see him watching us, it must be time to return," Sir Edward commented.

"Well, we haven't exactly told our parents the secret," said Jasper.


	7. Chapter 7 - The Ride Home and the Blacks

**Chapter 7 The Ride Home and the Blacks**

As predicted, Charlie and Renee were startled when two men waved them down a mile out of town, especially when they turned out to be Sir Edward and his personal guard. They asked permission to allow them to see the exemplary ranch which Jasper had described in detail to the minister of agriculture. Of course, what could Charlie do but agree?

Alice had begged her father, "Father, please let me go with the Swan Family. We won't be alone. There are family members everywhere on the farm. In just two months I will be going there to live. I need to see how Renee manages her duties on her ranch so I will know what to do on mine. Bella and Rosalie will be there, too. Please may I go?" Jasper and Bella were there to lend moral support. "I have so much to learn. I've never lived out in the country."

"Charlie, what do you think?" Mr. Brandon asked.

"It's not a bad idea. There are a lot of differences between her life now and what it will be like after the wedding," he agreed. "It's only for a week, it won't hurt. I'll keep an eye on them, and keep him busy."

Mr. Brandon looked at his wife, who smiled at him. He looked at his daughter, his precious only daughter, and saw her eyes pleading with him. He saw only love in Jasper's eyes, which was only mildly reassuring. He challenged his future son-in-law, "You will take care of her, and not treat her disrespectfully?"

"With my life, Sir," he returned.

"I'll remember that. All right. We will leave now so that you can pack, Alice," he agreed.

"Oh, papa! Thank you so much! Yes, I will fly!" she squealed.

"We will pick you up at dawn in the morning. Don't be late," warned Charlie, hoping she couldn't get ready in time so she couldn't come.

"I'll be ready. Let's go, daddy. I have so much to do!" She wondered how she could get the blanket and all the stuff that goes with it ready to be transported, as well.

Sir Edward sat up much of the night, writing reports, making arrangements with Garrett and preparing his saddlebags. When he finally got settled into the bed he drifted off to sleep quickly. The next thing he knew, it was dawn. He hadn't had a single dream. He was amazed and happy! The dream girl had come true in the form of Bella. He loved her even more... Wait, _LOVED HER_? He smiled a bit. The idea wasn't exactly new to him, he'd had it all day from the moment he saw her face. He would have to think about that. He gathered all that he had prepared to take with him and went to Garrett's tent.

"Sir Edward, I have assigned Eleazer Lewis to be your guard. He will stay with you and keep you safe," stated Capt. Garrett formally. "Would that it could be me to stay by your side, but I can't leave the men leaderless. Godspeed to you, Sir." They shook hands. As they exited the tent, Eleazer came around the corner. They had been in many situations together over the years, and knew each other well. "He has his orders. Ride with God."

Edward had dressed down, and had his horse, Midnight, in everyday livery, too. He pulled his hat down over his face. They did not attract attention at dawn as they rode out of town, toward the mountains.

Flame and Breeze came to a stop in front of the Brandon's house as the sun was peeking over the mountains. Alice's things were near the gate, and she was hugging her parents tightly. "I love you daddy and momma. Thanks for letting me go. I'll see you next week!" Jasper jumped from the buckboard seat and struggled to find a place for her things, noting the green blanket which was wrapped around a contraption to hold it tightly. He knew it had Moonlight's new blanket inside, and was glad that she had brought it to work on it at the Swan Farm. However, it was bulky and presented quite a challenge. Renee shifted things around and made it all fit. Jasper then helped her in and they were off. They tried to be quiet so that the neighbors could sleep, and Seth, Liam and Rachel were not exactly awake, either. It was only five miles. They would be there in a little more than an hour. Alice snuggled in next to Jasper. Renee sat next to him on his other side.

Bella sat next to Charlie. She cleared her throat when they got out of town. "Father, I have something to tell you. Sir Edward asked if he could come to visit the ranch. He wants to see everything there, the flocks and herds, the crops and the orchards. He even wants to see the stream that we use. He did not want the neighbors to get jealous or anything, so he asked if he could meet us just out of town. He won't be dressed up so that other people might notice him. He thought that this would be the best way to do it inconspicuously. Is it all right with you?"

He turned to look at her deeply. "Are you sure it is the ranch he wants to see up here, my sweet daughter?" She blushed.

"Father!" she cried, "Of course I'm sure. What else could he want to see?"

"Could he not want to see the most perfect daughter in the land?"

"Oh, Father. Don't embarrass me." She scanned the roadside. As they came around the bend of a little hill she could see two men and their two saddled horses and one pack horse. Neither was dressed in their royal clothes, and they were sitting on the grass, eating breakfast. As the wagon neared they stood up and came to the roadside.

"Good morning to you!" they called out to those in the wagon.

Charlie obligingly pulled over, "Good morning to you as well, Sir. Fancy meeting you out here so early in the morning." When the wagon was still, Sir Edward walked over to greet Charlie.

"Did Bella inform you of my request to join you at the ranch for a visit? I hope that we will not be an inconvenience," said Sir Edward.

"We are honored, Sir. Let us resume our journey. I am anxious to be at home," rejoined Charlie, looking over to Bella and then to Renee, who quickly nodded her head. It will take us an hour to unpack and get resettled at home, but we will be happy to show you any and everything we have."

"Thank you for your hospitality, Mr. Swan" answered Sir Edward.

They rode on without further discussion. Sir Edward was extremely anxious to find out all he could about the mystery hinted at by Bella, Jasper and Alice, and the riddle of his dreams. Charlie wondered what possessed him to come all this way. Surely it had more to do with Bella than the water or livestock. Renee had similar thoughts to Charlie's. She kept glancing back and forth at Bella on the wagon seat and the incognito man on horseback alongside the wagon. Jasper, Alice and the children were either asleep or just watching the scenery. They had been up since before the first light of day and would have a lot to do once they got home. Bella watched him every chance she could, just to see him. He moved so gracefully on his steed. It was as if they were one being, a centaur. They must know every nuance of movement between them. He looked up at her and caught her looking at him, again.

The rest of the journey was peaceful. They opened the gate to the farm and drove the wagon right next to the back door of the house and announced loudly, "Okay, everyone up and at 'em! We're home, let's get this wagon empty so that Jasper and I can park it and care for the animals." Sir Edward and Eleazer stopped the horses near the back door, too, and helped carry things in before they did anything but water their handsome horses. Everyone hopped out of the wagons but Renee and Seth, who were handing out the contents. It didn't take long to clear out the wagon. Then the men took the wagon and horses to the barn to care for them and put them where they could rest.

Paul joined them, coming out from behind the barn. "Welcome Home! I didn't expect to see you until the afternoon," he declared. "Everything went just fine, Charlie. The animals were content to eat here in the corrals, like you said, except for that white goat. You were right. She sure is skittish! Hardly saw more than a flash of gray here and there. She went into hiding as soon as I came within eyeshot. Is she a different breed? She seems to be bigger than most other goats."

"She's a wild one," answered Charlie. "Bella found the mom giving birth as she was bringing our goats home one night and helped. The mom had been attacked by something and died as soon as the baby was born, so Bella brought her home. Don't know more than that." Paul didn't notice Edward looking curiously to Bella, Alice and Jasper.

Paul looked into the wagon and saw Alice, "You brought home more than you left with," he chuckled. "My name is Paul, ma'am," he grinned as he held out his hand to Alice.

"Paul, let me introduce you to my _fiancée,_ Alice. We are getting married on the First Sunday next month. We are buying the land across the road from mom and dad," glared Jasper, intercepting the handshake, and helping Alice get down.

"It's nice to meet you, Paul," smiled Alice. "I guess that we will be neighbors soon."

"Looks like it," Paul said, shaking her hand, and then turning. "Here, Mrs. Swan, let me help you with that," and he made himself busy. When everything was in place, he met Charlie out in the barn to help with the horses. "Well, looks like you don't need much help out here, either." He saw the two unfamiliar men and walked over to greet them. "My name's Paul. I live at the next farm toward town."

Charlie had already taken care of Breeze and had her in the stall with oats. He turned to the men and introduced them, "Paul, let me introduce you to Edward and Eleazer. They want to see my ranch. My fame as a farmer has spread," laughed Charlie." He led Flame over and began grooming him, leaving them to visit with each other.

"Good to meet you, Paul," said each man as they shook hands. "We heard about the quality of the water here at the head of the river and came to see it for ourselves," Edward added. "You live nearby, you say?" queried Sir Edward.

"Yes, we are the next farm toward the town. However, we don't have any of the Swan's water. We get our water from a well, and it tastes the same as the river water, which is still good," replied Paul. "No one has water like this, though."

"What do you grow?" Sir Edward continued with interest.

"Mostly we plant wheat and alfalfa. The alfalfa seems to regenerate the land. We also have our vegetable garden, a few fruit trees and berries. Just the normal stuff," Paul replied. My dad and Mr. Swan barter some of our grain for pork, which we don't have. It works for both of us."

"I'd like to see your place later in the day, if your father wouldn't mind," Sir Edward continued, "I like to get to know people and learn things about their agriculture."

"I'm sure dad will be happy to show you our farm," finished Paul, shaking the proffered hand. He called out to Charlie, "Charlie, I'm going to go home now, if there's nothing else for me to do here."

"All right, Paul, I'll come over later with Sir Edward and Eleazer," Charlie returned.

"Sir Edward? As in Sir Edward, the Minister of Agriculture? That Sir Edward?"

"If you don't mind, we weren't going to let others know I stayed behind to see the farms I had missed before," he cautioned Paul.

"Oh, okay. I won't say anything," he promised. "Would you like to see it now?"

"Sure, now's as good a time as any. Do you mind if Jasper, Alice and Bella join us?" blushed Sir Edward.

Noticing the blush and filing it away in his mind Charlie answered, "I'll go and invite them," and he went to get the other three.

The four of them came spilling out of the house and they began the walk to the Black's home. Charlie turned to Sir Edward and tried to assure him that Paul could be trusted, "He's a good boy. His father is a good friend of mine, and is a hard working, honest man. You will like him, too," offered Charlie, "Paul is sixteen years old now, and will probably be flying from the nest in a couple of years. We will miss him, especially Jasper and Seth."

When they had walked Paul to his house he opened the door and called out, "Mom, Dad, where are you? I'm home! I brought someone who wants to meet you!"

"Paul, is that you? You're home early!" his mom called out as she entered the main room.

"Paul, what are you doing home so early? Are you all right? Is anything wrong? Do you need help?" Paul's dad came running into the room, agitated and speaking quickly.

Charlie stepped forward and tried to calm them, "Everything is just fine. Paul did a great job at our farm. We just came home today instead of going to church." He held out his hand to Sir Edward and gestured for him to come forward. "This is Billy Black, my best friend, and his wife, Sarah. Billy and Sarah, I would like to introduce you to Sir Edward, Minister of Agriculture, and his assistant, Eleazer." Billy looked him over, decided that it wasn't a trick and bowed a bit. Sarah was astounded and concentrated on not falling over as she curtsied. The other children ran in and stopped when they saw that there were guests. "Let me introduce you to their other children, Jared, Jacob, Rachel and Rebecca. Kids, this is Sir Edward, Minister of Agriculture, and his assistant, Eleazer." Jared and Jacob did little bows, Rachel blushed and copied her big brothers, bowing. Rebecca stuck her thumb in her mouth, and ran to hide in her mother's skirts, eyes wide.

Sir Edward decided to take the initiative, "In all of my tours, I have never taken the time to actually visit this far outside of the towns. It is about time I did it, and saw how the farms are run out here. We are always on the lookout for successes in plant and animal agriculture. We also look out for any other innovations. Is it too forward for me to ask to see your farm, and how you work it? What do you do that works for you out here?"

Billy came to his senses and responded to the inquiry about his prized farm. "Your majesty, I would be honored to show you our farm. We have been very successful up here on the bench with Charlie and Renee."

"Umm, just 'Sir' will do. I am not 'your majesty'. We don't have kings here," he chuckled.

"Oh, sorry, Sir," Billy said.

"By the way, Billy and Sarah," began Jasper, "we announced our engagement to the town at the dance last night, and are getting married in about six weeks. I will be buying the ranch across the road for a horse ranch, so we will be neighbors, too. I'll need to learn how to grow hay and alfalfa, too. Maybe you can show me how to get the most out of the seed."

Billy said, "Sure, sure, glad to do it for you Jasper." The women stayed together to talk about Alice and Jasper's upcoming wedding, and new ranch plans. Billy showed Sir Edward and Eleazer the house, and then led them out the back door and around the barnyard and farm. Sarah packed them a lunch basket for them to eat as they walked around, with a cask of cool water with which to wash it down. It was a large farm, but typical for the area. They had crops for food and for the animals, fruits, vegetables and some livestock. Billy rotated the crops, leaving a different area for the animals to graze in and to go fallow each year. There was some bartering with their neighbor, Charlie for goods as they each needed. It took over two hours to see it all. Even though he would rather have been with beautiful Bella, he didn't forget his job. It was a good cover story that he was there to see the farms so far inland, so he endured. That being said, he still yearned to go back to her.

When the tour was finally done, Sir Edward thanked Billy for his hospitality and good crop rotation ideas. He told him that he would return next time to see how the crops did at the end of the growing year, which pleased him. Jasper was anxious to go to Alice and Sir Edward was right in his footsteps. Charlie brought up the rear.

The women had first spent their time talking about the wedding and the party afterwards. The typical wedding was a simple ceremony with the bride and groom and their families coming to the front of the church after the general church meeting was done. One by one the sacred vows would be taken, and then there was a big picnic for any one close to the families involved. Depending on the circumstances of the families, sometimes everyone wore their best Sunday-go-to-meeting clothes. Others had new dresses for the bride and a new shirt for the groom. Alice, however, had her dress all done, and a new dress for her and Jasper's moms in progress, plus she had new dresses for Jasper's sisters planned. All of the dresses could be worn to church and nice places afterward, but hers will be packed away in her cedar chest. She and her mother were going to bake a cake and had planned on having some punch to drink for anyone who stays with them. Renee was going to make a big pot of her special stew for the meal. It will be lovely.

Then the conversation turned to her new ranch life, and how different it will be from city life. Billy and Charlie's land ends to the west at the cliff of the river, and the east side has the road as the border. The road runs up the middle of the plateau, and the far end terminates with the foothill pastures. Jasper and Alice were going to apply for homesteading the land directly across from Charlie and Renee's. They decided that the men should build the house right across the street from Charlie's so that they will be close by. She was used to being in the city, after all, and didn't want to be alone in the wilderness.

Alice had drawn a rough floor plan of the big house Jasper will build for her, and the women had been planning how to use it all. It would have a full basement and a second floor. The barn and stables would be far enough away to keep the smell down, as much as possible. She wanted a kitchen separate from the family room, and was determined to have a mud room at the back of the house so that anyone entering could wash up before coming into her clean house. She even wanted him to figure out how to warm the water using the sun. They wouldn't work on anything in the basement until they needed it, but the second floor would have their bedroom and the nursery, thinking positively with other bedrooms to come. She even knew what colors of fabrics she wanted for the different areas. It wasn't as big as her parent's home, but it would be theirs. In the meantime, Jasper will build a log cabin for them. They will use it for storage or visitors later.

When the men came in from outside it was getting pretty late, and it was time for them to go home. They had to feed the animals before they ate dinner, and they had been gone for a good part of the day. There was one particular animal that needed to have some attention, too. Sir Edward was quite anxious to meet what could be the animal of his dreams, but Jasper warned him that Moonlight would never come out when adults or males were around. He himself had to be very still for her to get close. He couldn't get close enough to pet her at all.


	8. Chapter 8 - The Swans at Home

**Chapter 8 The Swans at Home**

Sir Edward and Eleazar had packed a tent for their sleeping quarters and they needed to set that up. Alice would stay with Bella and Rosalie in the house, so that was easy. The trick was where to put the frame with the blanket on it so that she could work on it without drawing anyone's attention. On the trip home from town they had talked about it and Renee said that the best place for privacy that had enough light to work on weaving a tapestry was in the loft of the barn. When they had unpacked the wagon, Jasper had taken it there. Alice wanted to get it set up before dinner so she could work on it as soon as possible. She hadn't told them that she planned to make them simple long neck scarves for the four of them that would be colored like the blanket and have some of the long tail hairs woven into them, with no symbols or pictures. She had been able to go back to the jewelers to get the fourth talisman for Sir Edward if he wanted it. She had "seen" him wearing it and the scarf, so she was sure of herself.

When they got home Charlie and Jasper went to feed the cattle and milk the cows. Bella went to tend to the goats. Sir Edward and Eleazer pitched their tent near the stream, but still behind the house. Renee and the children had done the rest in their absence. They knew the routine, and did their tasks well. Rose and Renee called everyone to dinner by ringing a brass bell that could be heard from quite a distance. No one dawdled when it was time to eat. It was good to be back home.

Sir Edward and Eleazer found themselves surrounded with Swans, and being treated like just one of the gang. There was no formality or fawning over his title. No one wanted him for a favor or endowment. He looked at Eleazer and saw a huge smile on his face as he watched this normal family interact with each other. He almost wrestled with Jasper over the last roll, but finally let him have it. He didn't remember when he had such a great evening. He missed the siblings he never had and decided he wanted a big family, like this one. As a matter of fact, he would love to be part of this one. He could only think of one way to make it happen, if Bella would cooperate. Mercy! Now he was not only in love with her, he has plans to join her family and begin their own family, with lots of kids, no less.

And then he realized that he was watching Bella. He watched her talk with Rose about the goats and sheep as if they were the most valuable and rare breed on earth. He looked at her as she and Alice talked about their new dresses. He saw when she argued with her brother with her mouth clear full of dinner, almost coming to blows. She blushed when she was staring at him and he caught her. He couldn't help himself. She drew him to her. It was a good thing they weren't sitting next to each other or he might not have been able to resist touching her. He wanted to touch her, to stroke her arms or hold her hand. He would love to be able to whisper sweet nothings into her ear, and kiss her jaw line and long swan-like neck. As long as he was that far in his fantasizing he would love to kiss her, right on the mouth. His mouth began to water at the thought. He blinked when he realized what was going on in his head and he shook it to stop. He was the President's heir apparent, next ruler of the land. He shouldn't be thinking about her like this, and he was ashamed. He was determined to listen only to Charlie and Jasper from that point on and keep himself out of trouble. But she was so beautiful…

When dinner was done everyone cleared their place and took the dishes over to the sink. It was Liam's turn to wash and Rachel's to rinse and dry. She stood on a stool to reach them as it was. Since they were too short to put everything away, Mom helped with that. Seth, Jasper and Charlie headed out of the door to make sure everything was secure and safe outside and with the animals. They took Sir Edward and Eleazer with them. Bella warned them that if he wanted to see the pretend 'goat' they had to be very, very quiet so that she would not be spooked. As they followed Seth around to the goats and sheep, Sir Edward got his first glimpse at Moonlight. She had been curled up near a nanny goat and another kid, sleeping, but she heard them coming, jumped up and hid in the back corner. The kid had followed her out of habit, and stood in front of her. Still, he could see legs and much of the top of her, since the kid was so much shorter. She was nervous and pawing at the dirt. Her coat was nearing white, her mane and tail long. Her eyes showed the fear that she felt, but he had seen her before in his dreams, and knew immediately what she was, even without the horn. Liam looked around and made sure the animals were all there and ready to bed down, so he ushered the people out and closed and latched the gate of the stall tightly.

The girls had the house tidied up for the night and when the men entered they all sat down in the family room. Charlie got out the Bible and read the story of Daniel in the Lion's Den to them. Then they talked about it. When the conversation was done, they all knelt down in a circle and held hands while Rose said the night prayer. Everyone said good night to each other with a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Eleazer was surprised when he got his first kissless hug, and Sir Edward followed suit. Of course he was hoping for at least one kiss, but that didn't happen and he settled for the too quick hug. They even got them from Charlie and Renee. It was the end of a long day, and everyone was glad to go to their rooms for sleep.

Eleazar could stand it no longer. As soon as they closed the door behind them to go to the tent he started chuckling. He tried to be respectful of his liege, but he couldn't help himself. As a matter of fact, it got worse, and he started to laugh. Sir Edward was puzzled and looked at him, unable to see anything of humor out there in the dark. The laughing became irresistible and he grinned to see his stoic guard in such mirth.

"What is so funny, Eleazer?" he asked, curiously.

"I beg your pardon, Sir Edward, I can't stop myself," he replied, covering his mouth with his hand. "I was under the impression that we were on a secret mission to find the secret of life and agriculture when we came here. Everything was so hushed and the orders were so secretive that I assumed we were after a criminal or something."

"Well, no, we came to find the reason Charlie's water was so different. It seems to affect his farm and family so much," answered Sir Edward. I heard at the gathering that his fruits were the best and the sweetest, and that his crops were bountiful, even when other's crops were not."

"I see, Sir, but it seems to me that your eye has caught onto something else that is even more compelling to you," he added with a smirk, "I may be old but I'm not dead. My heart beats for my wife as it did in our youth. I am ever anxious to return to her arms and to our bed. It looks to me that the maiden Miss Swan has captured your heart as my Mary did mine so many years ago. You are falling in love with her. I have seen also that her eyes are focusing on you quite a bit, as well."

"Really? Do you think she likes me?" he blurted out and then grimaced because he had been caught.

"I'd take a guess that you are not alone in this new state of mind and heart, Sir, but may I ask a tender question?" he paused. "How are things in the palace? Are your parents likely to have a royal marriage in mind for you?" What are their expectations? I presume that because you are the only child of my President Carlisle and Lady Esme, that they have had your whole life to consider this aspect of your life. After all, most men your age are married and have children."

"We have occasionally spoken about my eventual marriage and fatherhood, but they have not arranged anything," he began. "They once, however, mentioned the age of thirty to me as sort of a deadline, which gets closer every day. I have been so busy that I haven't thought of it, to be truthful. But there is something else that has been consuming my mind and distracting me from looking at women at court."

"Pray tell, and what in the world was strong enough to pull your attention from the maidens at the capital?" he was hard pressed to think what would be strong enough to pull a virile man in his twenties NOT to think of girls.

By this time they were in the tent. They were undoing their bedrolls onto the cots that Renee found for them as Sir Edward described his haunting, disturbing dreams. He told him how it affected his waking hours and appetite. He described how the night visions consumed him, and how he felt every night when he saw the face of the girl in his dreams. He told him how his personal goal in this tour had been to look for this face, to listen for the voice, and watch for any danger that was part of the dreams. He then told him, reluctantly about the other dream, too, with the continuing danger, and that he had to save the girl, and that the unicorn would save them all. It felt so freeing to be able to describe these dreams to someone. He then told him what had happened at Twin Falls and how he finally found the girl he had seen in his dreams at night so very often.

Sir Edward was worried that he might be laughed at, but Eleazer took him quite seriously. He had seen him at the beginning of the tour, haggard and unhealthy looking, but pushing himself on, doing his duty and meeting and greeting the people of the realm. He had seen him seeming to search every face he met. He had assumed he just was sincerely interested in their lives and land, which he always saw when they were on tour, but this time he was more determined to see every face. He recalled how he looked different from the first thing on meeting day in Twin Forks, even more eager to meet the people, and that by the time of the dance he was almost frantic. He saw him after the dance in passing, and noticed a vast change in his visage. He seemed somehow better, completed. He wondered how that had come about, what he had found to make him change in only one day. He never would have guessed that this would be the cause. Now he understood. Only a woman could do this to a man. It takes a woman to make a guy into a man.

Feminine laughter flew into the tent and onto their ears. Edward jumped up and stood at the door of the tent. He followed the sound to an upstairs window where a light was still burning. Eleazer appeared at his side, grinning again, trying not to laugh aloud at him. Sir Edward's eyes were glued to the blinds as silhouettes danced on the blinds. He could tell who belonged to each of the three, Bella being the middle one in height, and he consumed her shadow with his eyes. His ears reached out to hear only her voice. Then someone blew out the candle and the window went dark. The voices became subdued, and then all was quiet. He watched the window for another few minutes until Eleazer pushed him inside and tied the flap closed against the elements and mosquitoes. He guided the mesmerized man over to his cot and made him lie down. They both had grins on their faces, but one was in rapture, the other in jest. "Good night to you, Sir," he said and took to his bed, rolled over and let the babbling stream lull him to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9 - The Swan Farm

**Chapter 9 The Swan Farm**

The animals woke with the sun. Sir Edward and Eleazer couldn't sleep through the combined bleats, whinnies, moos and grunts. Almost as early they could hear the family moving around in the house. Soon they could smell bacon and biscuits. Renee sent out Liam to invite them to breakfast as soon as they were ready. By that time, they were ready. They sat down to breakfast with great anticipation. When the table was set with the fragrant biscuits, gravy, bacon, eggs, and milk, Charlie asked Seth to bless the food, which he did. They ate with great delight and talked about the coming day's work. Sir Edward wanted to go to the spring that was the source of the stream and pond on his property, and Charlie said he would take him. Eleazar wanted to see the pastures for the cows and horses, so he would go with Jasper. Bella would take out the goats, and Rose the sheep as usual. They each took packs with them of lunch and water because they would be all day. Seth fed the pigs and the two children the chickens, ducks, geese and swans. Renee would then go out with them and harvest and weed the orchard and garden. They said goodbye to each other and went to gather the animals.

The animals were all glad to see their keepers, having missed the normal routine while Paul was there. It also meant that they would get fresh grazing and the room to run around. They knew which way they were to go and were happy to get on with it. Rose and Bella were not defenseless out in the foothills alone. They had their knives in their calf sheaths and their staffs with them. Bella had been glad she had that knife the night Moonlight was born, and it came in handy all the time out in the field. Charlie and Jasper trained them to use the staff not only to guide and herd the animals, but in defense against predators and stray men. They were not so far away from each other that the flutes that hung around their necks couldn't be heard by the others. They even had different codes for wolves, pumas, bears and human intruders. They also played music on them to soothe the animals. They had big shawls around their shoulders and the backpacks were filled with lunch, a book to read and an injury kit, in case of mishaps. One of the goats and sheep wore bells around their necks, too. They seemed to know that they were the leaders of their group, and would proudly walk first in line next to Bella or Rose as they came and went to pasture. Sometimes it seemed like they would command or scold the others, too. Bella thought it was because she would read to them, so Rose did it, too, when they let her start to take the sheep out by herself. Some other farmers had large flocks, and used dogs to help keep the sheep and goats in order. However, Charlie taught the girls to get to know the individuals and treat them with love and kindness and to lead them instead. It worked for them.

Eleazer rode his steed alongside Jasper who was on Flame. He showed him the crops of wheat and hay that they grew. The fences around the crops kept the always hungry wild animals out of the plants. Jasper told him that his first year he will probably be busy building the house, the fences and the buildings for the horses and equipment. He had only a month to clear and build a log cabin that they would live in until the bigger house was livable. They wanted to be independent, and would rather do that than to live with either family. When they move into the house they would use the cabin for storage or for hired help if they were needed later. They would get the lumber from the forests in the mountains, but there was a lot of work to transform a tree into lumber. There would be a community barn raising after the harvest was over, which would help a lot. Charlie would help with some of the rest of the things they would need like windows and stuff. Emmett and his dad said they would make them the fireplace fireboxes. Alice's father had said he would buy the first half a dozen horses for their wedding present, and they would keep them in a corral next to the barn and fairly near the house. He would expand from there. The first year when they actually lived in the big house they would live in the main floor, and expand from there as well. That didn't even count having an expanding family, as Alice wanted lots of babies. Alice would have a weaving and sewing room so she could continue making and selling her beautiful things in the city on market days. Renee and Sarah said that they would teach her about gardening, and each said that they would give her a couple of fruit trees for starters. Jasper was so excited for his new life as a horse rancher in this place he loved with the girl he loved. Eleazer listened attentively, and commented occasionally. He had never heard of such a way of beginning, never having lived out of a city where people were hired to do all of the building. It fascinated him, and he filed it all away in his mind for his report to Sir Edward.

Charlie rode Breeze next to Sir Edward on his mount and explained the short history of his arrival with his bride to their homestead after their honeymoon. "My father was a farmer and rancher down by Maple Valley. One year he came up to Twin Forks to go hunting up in the mountains and happened upon this spring, which led down to a pond. He thought it would be a perfect place to farm, but knew my mom would never move from Maple Valley. A couple of years later I met the most beautiful, wonderful woman in the world, and she agreed to marry me. When I told my dad I was getting married and wanted to farm like he did, he told me about this place. He said to come and look at it and check with the land bureau to see if it was possible to homestead it. That's how we got it. We built a little house, and then built everything else around it. We learned from failures and from successes. But we always had water, even in drought years. Both of our parents live in the same community near Maple Valley, so we take the kids down to visit them once a year. They come up here half a year later to see us, so we stay in contact with them and the kids know them. It has worked very well for us. Jasper wants to do something similar, but without moving away, and with horses. We will be happy to have him across the street. We can help each other and it won't seem like we'll be losing him. Plus, we will even gain a daughter, and later grandkids in the deal. I'm almost as excited about it as he is."

"It sounds like it will be perfect for all of you," he agreed. "It gives me insight into a whole different world from mine. We have people who work for us to do any of the work that needs to be done. We have enough money to buy pretty much anything we want, yet we only get paid what the Constitution allows. We have invested our money carefully, and work to keep that growing. Our wages are there for transportation and expenses, which is audited for anything which is out of order, or extravagant. We don't own our place to live, although the palace is a great place to live, and we have lived there for generations. It still belongs to the state. Both my parents and I have a couple of carriages and horses, but the state owns quite a few elaborate carriages for pomp and circumstance occasions. Each of us is employed in a responsible job, and we are civil servants. We, by law, must live within our means and make our budgets available for anyone to see. We do our best in our jobs, and we love it. It is all we have known for five generations. I really can't imagine doing anything else, so seeing your life has been a unique experience for me. If you are ever downstream to Portsmouth, I would love to do the same for you."

"Well, I have never been there yet, but perhaps we should do just that when we can get away. Now, if you look to your right you can see some boulders and rocks," coached Charlie, "Do you see them?"

"Um-m-m, there are rocks and boulders everywhere," Sir Edward squinted at the foothills.

"Oh, right, there are. Let's see. Come closer to the stream and follow it with your eyes. Maybe it will be easier that way," he hoped. He had seen it a lot in all these years. He knew where to look.

Sir Edward guided his horse right into the knee-high cold water. Midnight shivered, but complied. He then reached down and drank some of the water. "Oh, yes, I see where it disappears under the rocks just above the waterfall. Can we go closer?"

"Sure we can. Do you need to tie your horse, or can we just leave him unattended? Breeze knows this area, but won't leave if any of us are here," Charlie asked.

"Midnight will stay here. He has been well trained, too," he chuckled.

"Of course he has. Sorry." They dismounted and left their animals at the edge of the water in case they get thirsty. They climbed the last twenty feet, much of it at a steep angle as the water fell, clambering and falling down. When they got to the top there was a small cave about the size of a room. It looked like the small spring had geysered up at one time, eroding the walls out. There was some hair on the ground here and there. "It looks like some smart animals take shelter in here on occasion." He was curious and reached down and fingered the hair. It was soft and silky, unlike anything he had ever seen or touched, but Sir Edward wasn't worried about the hair, nor the animals that might take shelter on occasion, as long as they weren't there at that moment. He was interested in the water and saw it come straight up and out of the opening, shooting up a foot before it went on its way downstream toward the pond. It was a beautiful sight, almost magical. The atmosphere made his skin tingle and get goose-bumps. He tasted it, and it tasted the same as it did in town from the barrel. It was the same that he drank at the Swan's house, just as he expected that it would. He hadn't thought that Charlie would lie about his water, but it was obvious that he used the water directly from the ground without doing anything at all to it. "It is a gift from God," Charlie said, reverently. Sir Edward had to agree.

"Be careful, very careful with this water," began Sir Edward, "because there are unscrupulous people out there that would take it by unscrupulous means and charge a great deal for it." They refilled their canteens, and headed back to the horses. It was easier to climb up the rocks than down them, and Sir Edward slipped a bit and fell down. He didn't hurt much more than his dignity, but he did scrape the heel of his hands, which bled a bit. He blushed and continued on down, hoping Charlie didn't think any less of him.

"How often do the wolves come around here? There are tracks here following the water for a bit, and then they disappear and come out on the other side. Do they come down into your pasture area or crops and home?

"No, we rarely see them. Actually, that's how we got that skittish white goat. Wolves got a she-goat and did a lot of damage to the head and chest. Bella came across her and helped deliver the kid as the nanny died. Bella brought the little wild thing home and has raised it with the other animals. It will only come to my three daughters, though, no one else. Anyway, that's the closest we've come to the wolves."

When they got down to the horses they were back in the water just walking around in it. They seemed to like it. However, it was time to go back down to the farm. Sir Edward reached down into the water to pick up the reigns. His hands tingled a bit when they were in the water and he looked at them. There was not only no blood there, the cuts and scrapes were totally healed. His skin was perfect. His astonishment was off of the charts. "Charlie, what just happened to me? I scraped my hands when I stumbled upstream. My hands had small cuts and were bleeding. I touched the water to pick up the reigns, my hands tingled, and they now are totally healed. How did that happen?"

"It healed your hands?"

"It healed my hands."

"Hmmm. I never saw it do anything like that before," mused Charlie, "but I don't come up here very often, maybe once a year. That is very interesting. You know, come to think of it, we have had a couple of very good years. None of us has even gotten a cold. The crops have been exceptional for two years. It seems that every seed that I plant takes sprout and grows to perfection. It has been quite a blessing to us. Do you think it can be that something has changed in the water that made these changes?"

"I have no idea, but I sure wouldn't take out an ad in the paper. People would come in droves to drink of your water, or you could sell it by the barrel, unless you want that kind of notoriety. You could make a lot of money in the healing business," replied Sir Edward.

"No, I definitely do not want to have anything like that in our lives. If it is a recent development, it might change again and then where would I be? I'd be a laughing stock of the town," he worried. "Let's get back to the house. I want to talk with the family about this. Maybe they have noticed something." They rode back to the house at a good pace, but not enough to tire the horses.

Edward's thoughts went back and forth between the water and Bella. Finally he got up the nerve to ask her father, "Where do the girls take the goats and sheep to graze?" He thought he was slick, not specifying Bella.

Charlie smiled to himself and replied, "Bella takes the goats to the foothills, where the goat's favorite plants are. Would you like me to show you that area?" He could see that Sir Edward was more interested in his daughter than the grazing goats. That had been plain from the moment they met at the dance. He had seen that he had not been the only smitten one, either.

"Yes, I would, if it would not be too far out of the way, that is," he tried not to be overeager. But he knew he had to leave the next morning, so he didn't have time to waste. Charlie turned the horses a little to the left and picked up the pace a bit. It didn't take long to get near. He could hear a flute on the breeze, and could hear the bleats of some of the goats.

Charlie took him to where they were within sight and stopped. He whistled and Bella looked over to him, and so did many of the goats. He turned to Sir Edward, "The goats are not fond of the horses. If you would like to go talk with Bella, about the goats, of course, you must leave your horse with me. I'll take it to the barn for you and you can walk home with the goats. I'll whistle for Rose and you can all visit together for the rest of the afternoon," he added, slyly providing a chaperone for them.


	10. Chapter 10 - The Daughters

**Chapter 10 The Daughters**

Edward jumped from his horse and handed the reigns to Charlie quick enough to make his head spin. He looked into Midnight's eyes and said, "Midnight, I'm going to stay here a while and walk home with the girls. You can go with Charlie, here, and he will take you to the barn and feed you. Got it?"

Midnight had looked at Sir Edward and seemed for the entire world to be listening and understanding him. He looked over to Bella and blinked. He looked at Charlie and Flame. He nodded his head up and down and snorted. He then walked over to Charlie and allowed him to take the reigns.

"He'd follow me without holding these, because you told him to, wouldn't he?" laughed Charlie. Sir Edward nodded his head, but took off at a jog toward Bella.

Charlie laughed at his impetuousness. He took the horse's reigns and called that he would go get Rose. He whistled loudly to Rose as he left. The goats shied at the shrill sound.

As Charlie rode behind the hill, Edward approached Bella timidly, until she held out her hand to him. He took it eagerly and pulled it to his chest. He looked into her eyes and confessed, "I'm so glad to see you. You don't know how much I wanted to come with you the whole day and just watch you tend your goats. I don't know what has happened to me since I had those nightmares and saw you. At first when I saw you in my dreams I was pulled to you to protect and help you to escape from whatever the danger was. But then I became aware in my dream of you. I was drawn to you like a moth to a flame. My emotions soon overcame me and I longed for you, reached for you, wanted to hold you in my arms and kiss you. I memorized your fleeting ethereal face and voice. I grieved for you every morning as I awoke. My appetite for food lessened as my appetite for you increased. I finally tried to convince myself that you were just a dream, an illusion. I told myself that no girl could be so beautiful, sweet, kind and wonderful and pure. I knew that I would have to get over my dream girl and find a real one to love.

I made it my secret mission this tour to find either you or another wonderful, beautiful girl to love. I had given up as we sailed into Twin Forks. It was so small, in comparison with the other county seats, I would never find anyone here, but I was wrong. I found you. You are even more beautiful than my dream girl. You are sweeter than honey. Your kindness and good heart are deeper than hers. Your purity is evidenced by the association you have with a unicorn! My love for you has totally taken over my body and soul," and he gasped, realizing what he just said. Her eyes were as big as cheese wheels. Her perfect mouth was agape. "Oh, dear. I'm sorry. I have said too much. I have overstepped my bounds and …" He would have continued, if her mouth hadn't been planted on his. He almost fell back in shock, but his arms were wrapping around her waist without even informing his brain what they were doing.

"Well, I guess this is why we have chaperones foisted upon us all of the time, isn't it?" called Rose's voice from fairly close by. "What do you think you are doing to my sister? Do you think that just because your dad is the President and you are the heir, and a minister that you can come into town and take any woman you see? Do you do this in every town?" She was getting angrier by the moment.

"Oh, Rose! I'm sorry. Sir Edward was just explaining…" began Bella.

"I see how he was explaining. He tells you a pretty story and the next thing you know…"

"No Rose, it isn't like that at all!" Sir Edward interrupts. "I really had those dreams, saw her and fell in love with her. But my dream girl isn't nearly as wonderful as your sister. I knew I would love her from the moment I laid eyes on her yesterday. Yes, I love her. I want to spend my life with her. I want her to be my wife." Both girls gasped.

"Don't you think that you should know her a little more than a day before jumping to marriage?" Rose countered.

"Hello, Rose and Sir Edward, remember me, I'm Bella and I'd like to be included in this discussion," Bella said to them before they could continue. "Rose, you are such a good sister to come to my rescue like that. I really appreciate you. However, you made one little mistake. He wasn't kissing me…"

"Sure looked like kissing to me!" Rose countered.

"Sure felt like kissing to me!" added Sir Edward.

"Yes, but it was me kissing him, not him kissing me," clarified Bella. Well, that took Rose by surprise. Her eyes bugged out at Bella. "And I liked it, a lot! I know I only met him yesterday, but my whole being was captured by him immediately. I have wanted to kiss him since that night at the dance when he told me about his dreams and how I was in them with Moonlight."

"You did?" he asked hopefully.

"What dreams? All right. We are going to sit down right now under that tree and you are going to tell me everything about your dreams!" And he did, even the dream about the unicorn. "Now, Sir Edward, what danger is lurking and threatening us?"

"I have no idea. All I know is that Bella is in darkness and in terrible danger. I try to reach her to bring her to me and safety and she falls away. That makes me wake up every time."

"What does a unicorn have to do with this?" she continued.

"I wish I knew! It is in the other dream. They seem to alternate. There is water in one, that the unicorn runs through, fixing that catastrophe, but Bella faces another danger, darkness, but still with water," Sir Edward said exasperatedly.

"But these are just dreams! They are not real. Let them go," she pleaded. "Which dream did you dream last night?"

"Actually, I didn't have either dream for the first time in months. I slept through the night and woke up feeling wonderful," he grinned.

"Rose, when Alice put her hands in the nanny's hairs, she saw the same dreams, only in one of her visions," soothed Bella.

"Oh, no. That can't be good. Her visions come true," she conceded. "Oh, not that your dreams were made up or anything, but I know Alice, and have heard of her visions."

"Is there anything else?" Rose asked, just to be sure.

Bella and Edward both shook their heads. She didn't want to say anything more about the hairs and their healing power, even knowing his dream now.

It was time for them to go home, anyway, judging from the sun. The girls got up and played a short blast to the animals, which recognized it as the signal to go home. They gathered behind the girls and the lead goat and ram and the procession began. Moonlight came in with the sheep behind Rose because Bella held Sir Edward's hand as they led the goats home.

As they walked they talked about their lives. They talked about life at court as opposed to the rural life. They talked about people at court and people in Twin Forks. He told her about being the Minister of Agriculture and his travels all over the country. She told him that she had only been to Twin Forks and to Maple Valley annually to see all of their grandparents. He used the river and boats to do a lot of his traveling, and they had gone overland by wagon.

"Do you really love me and want to marry me?" she asked.

"I really, really do," he answered. "However, our parents will probably not be quite as excited as I am."

"That's for sure," she continued. "What can we do? I think that dad suspects us. If we try to hide it, we will lose his trust. If we talk about what has happened, we can work together to find the right way to go."

"I agree. I can not afford to lose the trust of my potential parents-in-law, let alone constituents. Then **my** parents would kill me." He walked in silence for a minute. "How about this? If we have a family meeting tonight and bare our chests, figuratively speaking," he tried not to look at her chest, but failed, "we tell them about my dreams."

"I like this plan better than hiding it. Can we have the meeting without Liam and Rachel? They are pretty young to keep such a secret, but I think that Seth can handle it, if we play up the part about him being mature enough to handle it."

"That's a good idea. So we will ask for a family meeting. I must leave in the morning. Eleazer and I must push our steeds to catch up with the caravan before it reaches Portsmouth. The next step will be to talk with my parents about you."

"Should I be nervous?" she asked quietly.

"No I think that they will be delighted I finally found my match," he smiled while she blushed. "Mom has been bringing girls by the castle for years, trying to find one. I don't think we will need to worry about the status thing, either, because she was a commoner herself, a daughter of an orchard farmer."

"Status?" she worried now.

"Some people who have a lot of money think that they are better than others. They try to keep with their own kind, and marry within each other's families. I have seen all of them. They are proud, selfish, boorish and rude. They have no scruples, where you are pure, kind, generous and good. They try to paint on the beauty with which you glow. They think that money will buy them happiness. You live the happiness that comes from love in and of your family. I don't care about status. All of that kind of thinking gives me headaches. I care about your soul, your pure, beautiful soul." He stopped walking and pulled her to him. He was going to kiss her again, but the goat with the bell rammed him from behind because of the stop. She laughed. The animals wanted to be in their homes. Rose came to her gate for the sheep corral and let them in. She had seen the ramming incident and laughed at them, too. Sir Edward glared at her, embarrassed.

They came to the goat corral and opened the gate for the goats to enter. He went into the house to find and consult with Eleazer about his day and to find what he learned about the rural life. She got out the stool and buckets and milked the goats for the cheese making and put the milk away. She looked around to make sure everything was secure before she latched the gate and went in to wash and help get dinner on the table. After dinner they read a chapter in the Bible and said family prayers. Then everyone did their nighttime chore.

It was Seth and Rose's turn to do the dishes, so Bella went to her father to ask for a family meeting without the youngsters. He seemed not to be surprised at the request, and said he would inform the others. They gathered in the family room as their chores were completed and the two little ones were in bed. As patriarch of the family, Charlie called the meeting to order, and opened it with prayer for understanding and wisdom. "As long as we are all together in a family meeting I have an announcement that I think you will all like. Your mother and I are going to expand the farm. We are going to add new life to it. We are going to have a baby brother or sister for you just at the end of harvest time, about six months from now." There was cheering and hugging all around. As you know, the doctors said that we would not be able to have any more children, so this is a big, happy surprise for us, a miracle from God. Your mother has been healthy so far, and this pregnancy seems to be going perfectly well. We thought this would be a good time to spring the news on you. I am happy that this brings joy to you as it does to us." He then turned to Sir Edward and turned the floor over to him.

"Kind Sir, I thank you for your hospitality, generosity and wisdom in all Eleazer and I have seen today. You have really opened our eyes. We have seen many farms and ranches, and yours is outstanding.

"I like how you work together with Billy, your friend and neighbor to provide for both families. I like how you handle your crops and your animals. They are both in good hands. I am certain that this will grow next month as Jasper and Alice begin their married life here as well. Life here on the bench is good for you, and your hard labor pays off in many ways. You have a wonderful family. I have enjoyed meeting and following every one of them, even Rachel and Liam. Seth is almost a man. Soon he will be out of school and will begin to be trained to work full time on the farm. It is a vital and honorable profession, especially the way you do it up here.

Renee, I am happy for this new baby for you and that all is going well. You run your household, gardens and orchards with a practiced hand. You train your children all of the skills in all of the areas without regard to which is a man or a woman's job. It teaches them teamwork and cooperation. They all know how to use a canning bottle and the plow. They can prune a fruit tree or milk the dairy cows and goats. You work with the children on their school lessons as well, so that they will be literate members of society. You are a model for womanhood.

You both take great pains to teach all of your children honor, respect, trustworthiness and appreciation. You have instilled the value of work well planned and carried out. Because of you they know responsibility, and yet, knowing not everyone has these qualities you teach them self-defense and how to see through deceit. I wish all parents could do so well.

"You all know why I come every six months in April and October. As Minister of Agriculture I have responsibility over all food made in our country, whether animal, vegetable or anything else. We seek new, workable ideas and try to reward innovation. We try to find things that work in one place so that perhaps people in other areas might try them and perhaps be more successful, too. Finally we use this time to communicate directly with our people, those whom we serve. If we don't know them, how can we serve them? We do not live like kings, because we are not kings. We are servants to all, and hope to inspire people to serve each other.

"I have told some of you about my personal problems. I have had nightmares for two months, which upset me enough to have trouble eating and sleeping. In the first dream there is a superbly beautiful, heavenly girl who is in imminent danger. There is darkness and water involved, but I'm never sure what is happening to her. She calls to me by voice and in my soul. I must protect and save her. Over the months I have developed such strong feelings for her that it feels like I love her,

"The other dream only has one element that repeats from the first, and that is water. There is a river which is in terrible danger. It has been polluted to the point of being poison and we are all helpless to know what it even is, let alone how to fix it. In the background there is fire and smoke in the sky to the far North of us. Our entire population uses water from the Columbia River, which looks a lot like the river in my dreams. The water is polluted and has streaks of milky white poison. It kills both plant and animal, whatever it touches. If it is not stopped in time all of the people and plants all down the river will die. Everything withers and dies. And it continues out into the ocean where the killing continues and grows. The only way to stop it is to mix in the antidote as close to the source as possible, while it is still small. Out of nowhere in my dreams a white horse comes galloping into the water and runs through it when the river is small. The water is healed by just it's presence in it. When it turns around I can see it in profile. It is a figure out of fantasy. It doesn't exist, as far as anyone can remember. It is a unicorn. It is smaller than a horse, yet bigger than a goat. The body is shaped like a white horse. The horn sticks out prominently from its forehead. But it has fear in its eyes. It is looking for something. It is in a fearful place, but its determination to help is stronger than the fear. I see fear in its eyes when it sees me, but then the dream ends.

"I awoke every morning determined to save the girl of my dreams and to help the unicorn, but I had no idea who or where the girl is, and unicorns don't exist. I feel that this is the girl who was meant for me. I love her. If she exists, I need to find her and make her mine, to marry and live my life with her. I made it part of my mission on this trip to see if I could find this girl somewhere in our country as I traveled. I was discouraged after going to all of the county seats, with no luck. Twin Forks is rural, and small. Surely, someone so choice wouldn't be there.

"You can imagine my surprise when on my first night here I heard the voice of the girl of my dreams as I walked to the blacksmith, but I couldn't find her in the encroaching dark of night. I heard her again in the morning at market, but duty called and I had to give up my quest to do my civic duty. Little did I know that the town was in an uproar about its water. Water was one of the elements of my dreams! How could it be a coincidence that two parts of my dream were in the same room? Then I tasted the water and felt the weight of my dreams lighten. This water was helping me, healing my heartache, and I only had a glassful. Wouldn't you know that the person who gave testimony at the inquiry about the tainted water was the son of the owner of the water which was helping me with my depression? I watched him as he sat down, determined to find and talk with this family when I saw them.

She was real; I had heard her and finally saw a glimpse of her near the puppet show. I was too far away to go to her, but I saw her and she was real! The real girl was here in Twin Forks, and in her countenance was more than beauty. She was glowing to me. She was beyond my hopes and dreams. When I went after her she was gone. I couldn't find her. The crowd thronged me, and I couldn't look for her. I didn't loose hope, though, because there was still the dance. I was determined that I would meet her in any way possible at that dance and my dreams came true. I talked with her, and danced with her. Her name is Bella Swan. She agreed to go outside and talk, if she brought her brother, and we talked about everything that had been on my mind and in my dreams. We made covert plans for us to meet, and for me to get to know her better and to find out more about this water. You know pretty much everything else, since I have been surrounded by Swans all day, my one and only day to get to know her as well as find the answer to the mystery of the water. By the way, the water healed me today even more than my heartache. Charlie took me to the source of your water and on the way down I slipped and scraped my hands, which bled a little. When I got to the horses I reached down into the water to get the reigns my hands were healed completely. Something in the water healed my skin. What more do you guys know about your water?"

"Well, we all have been really healthy this year and last. None of us has been sick at all, and the crops and animals have been better, too. Not only that, but it seems that I was healed and I can carry this baby now."

Seth and Rose just looked around. This was all new to them, but Alice nudged Jasper in the ribs, and motioned with her head to do something. "Go ahead and tell them, Jasper, this seems like part of what we saw."

Jasper looked to Bella, who nodded her head. "It seems that the night Midnight was born and the nanny died Bella discovered that they weren't what she thought they were. After the baby was safely delivered and was out of her mother, the mother died. Bella tried to help her, but she had lost so much blood to what looked like a wolf attack, plus a long, arduous birth, with additional blood and fluid loss was too much and she died. When Bella went around to her head she couldn't miss that she was not a wild goat, like Bella had thought, but a unicorn."

"What?" cried out almost everyone else. Everyone clamored for more information. Charlie and Renee were dumbfounded. Eleazer was mesmerized. Sir Edward almost fainted. It was the last element of his dreams. He held his head.

"There was nothing more she could do for the mother, but she wanted to do something that would be for the baby, so she cut off her mane and tail and thought it could be woven into something like a saddle blanket for her using the hair. She also cut off the horn. We went back the next morning and buried her so that more damage couldn't be done to her body. We've been raising her ever since, though she will only come near my three sisters here. Bella and I took the hair to Alice and asked her if it could be used to make the baby a blanket. We went to the park at the side of the river and were talking about the story, and showing Alice the box of hair when Quil and Embry found the tainted water. As Alice grabbed the boys who were about to put sticks into the water a hair or two fell into the water and it was instantly clear. The fish that had died revived and the plants returned to green. This is the first time that we have told anyone. We did not even tell the police. We were scared. When she touched the hair in the box, she saw a vision of what the blanket would look like and how to make it. Not only that, but she saw the vision that Sir Edward saw in his dreams of the unicorn running through the water healing the poisonous water by her mere touch. By the way, Alice almost finished the blanket today. It's up in the hayloft."

"May I see it?" "Show me!" asked almost everyone in the room. They got a couple of lanterns and trooped outside. They knew to be especially careful with the fire up in the loft full of dry hay. When they got there Jasper helped Alice unlock the door and they tried to get in. It was a close fit, but they all managed to get in. The sight of the blanket took Bella's breathe away. On three sides on the edges, there was fringe of yarn and it looked like hair, They all marveled, The center was a midnight blue field with a picture woven into it of Moonlight playing in the water by the moonlight of a quarter moon. The border pattern and center picture were done, and the top fringe was all that was left to do. It was magnificent.

Sir Edward reached out to touch it. "Wait a minute. Today at the spring we saw white hair on the ground. I touched it, but know very little about wild animal hair and its texture. This is it! This feels just like the hair on the ground at the head of your water! A unicorn was sleeping there, maybe even Moonlight's mother. Maybe the wolves found her there and attacked her. Maybe she outran them, but finally collapsed where Bella found her."

"It's too bad that her hair couldn't heal her," Bella whispered. "These are pieces of the puzzle that seem to fit together. What do you think, dad?"

Charlie scratched his chin and looked earnestly at Sir Edward, "Was it just yesterday that we were just going to market to sell our goods, listen to civic speeches and dance? Where did all of this come from? We have a unicorn in with the goats. It has magic, and its hair can heal poisoned water. Danger is coming for not only this unicorn, but to my precious family and daughter. The heir apparent thinks he is in love with that daughter, and by the way she looks back at him, the feeling seems to be mutual. What am I to think? It is too much, too fast." Renee walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him, snuggling into his chest.

"I think that we have been blessed to have such fine children and a home. We have each other. The rest we can deal with, together," she soothed. "Right now there is no danger. We have a ranch to homestead and prepare. We have a wedding to prepare for, and a baby coming. I think I will concentrate on these things, and watch for the danger. If we are watchful, we can be prepared."

"Yes, yes. We will do what we know about and be watchful for dangers. Thank you dear, you calm my troubled heart."

Alice perked up, "Well, tomorrow is Tuesday and I go home on Sunday, after attending church with you. I need to work up here tomorrow to finish everything, and then the rest of the week to learn everything I need to know about being a rancher's wife. I can do that, right Jasper?"

"Yes, dear, that's right. I'll get back to work on the logs first thing in the morning. Emmett said that the first fireplace will be ready on Thursday so there is plenty to do."

"Wait a minute, Bella; you said you took the horn. Can I see it? What will you do with it? What good will it be?" asked Seth. "If you don't want it, can I have it?"

"Actually, I don't know what I will do with it. It's put away securely. I was going to ask Emmett what he thought when he came with the fireplace. Maybe he can come up with something," answered Bella. "I can't just hang it on the wall like a pair of antlers, a trophy." Everyone agreed to that.

Eleazer piped in, "In the old times it is said that they ground the horns down to a powder and used it to heal folks."

"Well, I'm not doing that, I want to keep it intact," she was adamant about that.

Renee looked around at her family and guests, "Let's get back to the house. It's getting cold out here." They all agreed and filed out of the crowded room, but Alice who quickly covered her work, and then Jasper led her out and down, catching up with the rest.

As they walked Charlie turned to Sir Edward, who was covertly holding Bella's hand, "What are you going to do now?"

"Eleazer and I will leave after breakfast for home. I will go to my dad and mom and report on everything I learned in my whole tour. Then I will tell them about your family and the water. I will remind them of my dreams. Then I will tell them about your beautiful, wonderful daughter. We will work on the whole thing from our point of view as rulers of the whole nation. We will work on keeping the river clean. It is the source of clean water and life for most of our people and we can't just let it be poisoned. There is nothing we can do about an unknown danger besides being vigilant.

"The other thing is Bella. I want to come back to Jasper and Alice's wedding, if I may. I would like to take Bella back with me to meet my parents and see my way of life; it is so different from yours. Sir, I love her. I want her for my wife. I will always care for her and adore her, May I have permission to court her?"

Charlie stopped in his tracks. "How will you court her from that far away?"

"We will write letters when we can't be together. I'll come for the wedding. I'll take her home with me for a week or ten days, if I may, and we will continue courting at Portsmouth. We have plenty of people there who can chaperone us, as my parents would insist, too. We can get to know each other, and will set the wedding date together, if she'll have me."

"I'll talk with Renee tonight and get back with you in the morning," he answered, "Bella, what do you want?"

"Yes, dad, I want to try. I think I love him, too. I'd like to try this out and see if we can make it work." She gave Edward a look that melted his bones to the marrow.

He couldn't help himself. He jumped up in the air and shouted for joy. He wanted to hug her and kiss her, but Charlie was standing between them. So he grabbed him around the waist and spun around, "Thank you, thank you thank you!" Charlie was totally taken by surprise and by the time Sir Edward was done, everyone, including Charlie, was laughing. "He said I can court her! Hooray! Yahoo!"

When they got to the house it was time to go to bed. It had been an amazing and hard day. When he took her hand she squeezed it back to let him know that she cared. They headed to the family room but Jasper and Alice went with them. They all talked about Moonlight and what had happened, and what might happen. They talked more about long-distance courting, but nothing could really be resolved. They would have to live it day-to-day. Renee appeared at the door and cleared her throat, reminding them of the time. The guys walked the girls to the foot of the stairs. When they looked around, only the four of them were there, so Jasper grabbed his fiancée and kissed her. Not to be outdone, Sir Edward tried the same with Bella, but she stopped him and reminded that he was only allowed to kiss her hand. So he kissed the back of her hand, the knuckles, one by one, the fingers and the palm. By this time Jasper had stopped kissing Alice, and took Bella's right out of Sir Edward's hand. "That's enough of that!" he laughed. "You have only known each other a little over a day. Alice and I are engaged and going to get married in a month. You don't get to kiss Bella more than I get to kiss Alice." They said their good-nights and parted.

Eleazer was waiting in the tent, readying it not only for sleeping, but also for their early departure. They had been together for practically the whole adventure, so there wasn't much to discuss. Sir Edward did have one thing to ask him, though, "What do you think?"

"About what, Sir?" Eleazer wanted clarification so that he doesn't overstep his boundaries.

"About Bella and me," he answered.

Eleazer chuckled, "Well it is sure a surprise, all of this is, but I think that you two will be good for each other. I think that if there is danger, it is good to be forewarned. I think that there will be a whole lot of courtiers hating Bella because you have chosen a farmer's daughter, but that your parents will love her."

"You think there will be trouble with the other girls?"

"No, just jealousy. But they don't call jealous girls 'catty' for nothing. They might ignore her or be rude to her, and we shall watch for that. She will win their allegiances sooner or later because of her pure heart and kind generosity."

"She will, I'm sure of it."

"Good night to you, Sir."

"Good night, Eleazer."

They awoke early in the morning. Sir Edward decided to take a quick plunge in the stream. "Eleazer, I'm going to go wash myself in that stream. I haven't bathed in three days and I probably stink. And if there are any nicks or bruises, I want to test if they'll be healed. Will you come with me?" Eleazer moaned, but stripped down to his under pants as Sir Edward had. They looked around and couldn't detect that anyone was near. They ran down to the stream and jumped in, submerging themselves. They had known it would be cold, but this was like glacier water cold. They only stayed in a few seconds. Eleazer braved it with him. Their shrieks were not soft. It was icy cold as they surfaced, screaming, jumped out of the water, danced around a bit to generate some warmth, then darted back to the tent to dry off and get dressed.

"What on earth is that?" cried Charlie as he stumbled to finish putting on his pants.

"Are we under attack?" shouted Seth, hopefully.

"Who is screaming?" yelled Bella, nervous from all of the talk of danger.

"It's coming from the yard!" called out Rose, and the girls went running to the window. However, the shouts turned to giggles when they saw the two men in just their wet, white under pants jumping up out of the water, screeching.

The door burst open and Renee came running in to usher the girls away from the window. "Girls! Come away from that window immediately! It's bad enough that they chose the first thing in the morning to freeze their skin off, but you are being indecent by watching them. How would you like the tables to be turned and it being you coming out of that frigid water and them watching you from the window? Foolish men! What do they think they are doing? Get dressed and help me with breakfast and packing food for their trip. Not one word about this. They must be mortified. We don't need to compound it," and she bustled down the stairs.

By the time everyone was seated at the breakfast table they could feel the forbidden subject trying to come out. The girls tried not to look at the two men, and no one said a word about the incident. They talked about the weather, the animals, the homestead cabin, the crops, but no one mentioned the early morning bathing.

Finally innocent Rachel looked to Eleazer and asked him, "The stream is really, really cold in the morning. Why did you guys jump into it?" The table erupted with laughter. The two men blushed deep red, and then joined in with the frivolity.

He answered her child's question, "We heard how healthy it is to be clean, and hadn't bathed since we came. We thought we would try it in your pretty stream. But it was colder than we thought it would be and couldn't help screaming. I'm sorry if we woke you."

"I was just getting out of bed because Rose, Bella and Alice were all by the window whispering and giggling, and I wanted to see what was so funny," she answered honestly.

"The girls were looking out of the window at us?" Eleazer laughed. "We must have been quite a sight!"

"You sure were, jumping out of the stream, yelling to wake the dead and dancing over to your tent," her eyes twinkled as she laughed. "When we go swimming we take towels with us, and do it in the afternoon when the water has had time to warm up. We also wear our swim clothes that don't go all see-through like yours did. But momma pulled us away from the window and told us to get dressed and get down to the kitchen."

Sir Edward had never been so embarrassed in all of his life. Not only had he acted on impulse and done something that ended up being foolish, he and Eleazer had evidently been seen nearly naked and wet by the whole family, including Bella. He groaned in embarrassment and buried his head in his hands.

"All right, all right. This is not the way we treat company. Let it be. What is done is done, but we don't need to bring it up again, do we?" Charlie's eyes leveled with each one of his children.

"No, papa," they said in unison.

The breakfast ended all too soon for Bella and Sir Edward. Renee gave Eleazer the bags filled with food for their trip. Jasper gave them as much water as they could carry. Alice gave Edward the watch bob she had purchased when she saw him wearing it in one of her visions. It had one of the hairs coiled up inside, like the other three had. Bella ran upstairs and fetched him one of her hankies. She had embroidered her initials on it, and had crocheted a border around it. She kissed it, and then handed it to him. He kissed it, too and tucked it into his shirt, right over his heart. He really wished he could kiss her, but it would be unacceptable.

"I'll write often to tell you what I'm doing, if you will do the same for me," he spoke softly to her. Her heart was in her throat and all she could do was nod her head to him. Tears were gathering in her eyes. "I'll come to the wedding. It will only be a month until we are together again. I love you, Bella." Tears were coming to his eyes, too, as hers overflowed and ran down her cheeks.

He turned his mount around, followed closely by Eleazer, and galloped down the road. Her heart broke, as Rose and Alice hugged her.


	11. Chapter 11 - Letters

**Chapter 11 Letters**

June 11, 1859

Dear Bella,

We finally made it home. Eleazer and I pushed our horses a little faster than we normally would have, and it only took one day to catch up with the caravan. It was so worth it to have gotten to know you and your family, especially you.

I miss you so much. I feel like I have a hole in my chest where my heart was. I left it with you.

They were surprised to see us, because they thought we were on the ship. The ship got back in only a day. I had told Capt. Garrett, who went on the ship, that I was exploring the water problem so that my parents wouldn't worry. Well, that is partially true. There was a welcoming dinner the night we arrived home. They served steak and potatoes, but it wasn't as good as your mother's stew. I was exhausted from the ride and only stayed until the moment I could gracefully leave. It was so very good to sleep in my own bed! The whole next day was spent in debriefing to the council and a private one to my parents. I didn't tell the council about you, but I did tell my parents.

They were very, very interested to hear about you. I told them about your rich brown hair which framed your face and tumbled down your back at the dance. I tried, unsuccessfully, to explain how I could look deeply into your eyes all the day long. I described to them about the way you move, your sense of humor, and your integrity. We talked about your tender feelings toward your goats, the other animals, and people, too.

I wish I was there with you.

I told them about the water in your spring, but not about the unicorn hair giving it healing qualities. After all, it is exceptional water all by itself. If I had told them about the healing in the water there would be an investigation, and, even though I am the one who would lead such an investigation, there is no need. We know why it heals. It is not the water, but the unicorns, which must remain our secret. I gave them a full report on everything else that I did and found on the tour.

It will be just three weeks until we leave to come and see you, well, come to Jasper and Alice's wedding. I hope you don't mind that I invited my parents. They are quite anxious to meet all of you and see your farm, like I did. Can you ask your parents if it will be all right for them to come? Wild horses couldn't keep me away. We will sail upstream, which will take two days because the current flows downstream. They don't want to make a big show of it, so we will bring the ship that we use that looks like so many others, not fancy or anything. My parents want to sleep on the ship when we arrive, go to church with you and stay for the wedding and lunch, and sleep on the ship again. The next day we can ride our horses up to the ranch, spend the day with you, and then they will return. Would it be all right if I stay with Seth and Liam that night so that I can stay one more day before I return to the ship? I figured that Jasper won't be there that night. If your parents prefer I can bring the tent. But I don't think I will try bathing in the stream again.

Speaking of Jasper, I have sent a wedding present to them. Don't be surprised if a couple of workmen arrive to help him with the building of the cabin. They will bring the present, and help him to make sure that their new home will be perfect until he is ready to build the bigger one. We are trying not to arouse suspicions, so they are coming overland in a normal looking covered wagon. They have been instructed to not tell anyone, except your family, of course, who has sent them, nor what they are doing. It seems that people want to gawk and stare at everything we do. They gather just to watch us. Traffic jams up. Privacy evidently doesn't apply to us. If we do it this way, anyone who is curious as to who hired them will just assume that you guys did. I hope that is all right with you. I really don't want to offend your parents by taking anything over.

I can hardly wait to see you again. I love you.

Yours truly,

Sir Edward Cullen

Minister of Agriculture

June 25, 1859

Sir Edward Cullen,

The workmen arrived the day after your letter did. I was ecstatic to have received it! I love you, too!

You sent a couple of workmen? It looks like an army is camped out across the road with all of the tents. I don't know how you count. I think of a couple as being two, but six was a bit more than that. It was genius to send a workman with a wife who sews. Alice put her right to work on the men's shirts for the wedding, so that she can concentrate on the dresses.

Jasper was thrilled and sends his thanks! He was worried about getting the cabin done in time for the wedding (and if it will stand in a stiff wind), and now they will have time and manpower to make sure it is all completed and sturdy. Thank you for the colorful yarn, lace, ribbons and fabrics for Alice. You must have heard her plans, because they were exactly what she was hoping to buy. She finished her dress, and is currently working on ours, but she says she has a surprise for Jasper, me and you. She will give them to us when you return. She won't say what it is, but she hopes we'll like it.

You are so thoughtful and generous to send so many things to us. Thank you.

Alice and Jasper are totally overwhelmed at your parent's wedding gift, too. Please tell them thank you. A real four poster polished wood bed, complete with pillows, and sheets totally overwhelmed them. Jasper has been too busy building the house to work on any furniture. It was very thoughtful. They are all so beautiful that Alice is afraid that people will want to visit, just to see the bed. We have never seen pillows, mattresses, sheets and pillowcases so fine and lovely. It was the perfect gift for our newlyweds. Renee, Rose, Sarah and I have been working on a quilt ever since they became engaged. We even gave Rachel a bit to sew. They will look so beautiful together. Alice will weave a blanket or two before the winter, so the yarn will be used for that. Good choice!

I think of you all of the time. Your image is constantly in my mind's eye. I love your green eyes and bronze-colored hair. I think of your strong back and arms as you danced that morning after your impromptu dip in the stream. Is it indecent to say that is my favorite memory? I try not to think of your strong legs and how the wet material clung to you, but the image keeps coming back. I smile at it all of the time, but I'm not fooling my parents. They know you are on my mind.

By the end of Alice's week here Moonlight would barely let her alone. We think that she can sense the hair from her mother that Alice has been working with. On the last day she was here, Alice brought the blanket out for Moonlight. The sweet thing buried her face in it and whinnied. Her mother died practically the second she was born so I didn't think she would know the scent, but she evidently does. I used my sweater that night to wipe her down to get the blood and water off of her, and to stimulate her, so she always responded well to me. The only mother she has ever known is our nanny goat. As soon as I got her to the barn I rubbed her all over with the nanny's blanket so that she would be accepted to nurse on her. The nanny taught her everything about how to be a good goat. But when Moonlight smelled the blanket, she knew it was hers. Maybe she even knew it was her real mother's scent. Whatever the reason is, she has it with her or on her all of the time. We take it off sometimes, but she lays on it. If we wash it and put it on the fence to dry, she pulls it off onto the ground (so much for washing it to be clean) and lies down on it. Anyway, she loves it, and it sure is beautiful. It fastens with a tie around her neck and under her belly so it won't fall off.

By the way, she is three months old now, and she's growing fast. Her horn is a good three inches long now. She's half white, too. The nanny keeps looking at Moonlight with a puzzled look, wondering what happened to her kid, but, being a good mother, she accepts her regardless.

I must close now, my candle's getting low. I will dream of you all night. Did I tell you that I love you?

Yours truly,

Bella Swan

July 2, 1859

My dearest Bella,

I have everything ready to pack in the ship, except that it's a week before I can do so. My parents have told everyone that we are going on a week's vacation to cruise the river, so that's taken care of, and it's true. They have even done it before, a few years ago.

My parents are so eager to meet you. I have told them about you so many times, my mother says that she feels that she has known you for ages. They want to like you, so being yourself will make them happy. Don't be nervous or anything.

Did the big box arrive yet?

Nothing of note is going on here. Crops are in, babies are birthed and are growing, and manufacturing is steaming ahead. Mom has stopped inviting courtiers to dinner for me to get to know, finally. I think she is getting the idea that you are it for me. There is no need to introduce me to other girls. My parents and I have worked hard to not neglect anything while we are gone. All of our appointments have been moved out of that week. We have written to the mayors of Covington and Newcastle so that they know we are coming. They think that it is as a result of my visit, which is true, sort of. Anyway, we are ready.

We plan to arrive Saturday evening and will meet you at church on Sunday morning. I am counting the hours. I wish it was our day, but it is theirs. We sadly will set sail Monday morning and sail down the river, stopping at those two cities on the way.

I can hardly wait for you to come to Portsmouth with us to see my home and be introduced at court. I want to show you our world, my work, and introduce you to everyone, proclaiming you as my true love.

I have a plan. I will ask you to marry me when I get there, and you can accept, then we would be engaged. It wouldn't be as improper for you to come home with us for a visit. I can just see us married and living happily after we are married, with a bunch of kids running all over the palace. I like that idea. I love that idea! What do you think?

I love you! I love you!

Yours truly,

Sir Edward Cullen

Minister of Agriculture


	12. Chapter 12 - Before the Wedding

**Chapter 12 Before the Wedding**

Edward's letter set Bella aflame. She kept the letter to herself for a day until she was ready to pop. She showed it to Rose, who gasped at the end.

"Oh, my goodness! Oh, my goodness! Oh, Bella! This is so romantic! What are you going to do? Wait, how do you feel about him? Do you love him like this? What are you going to do? We have to tell mom. We should show her both letters and let her know how you feel. What will we do if you say yes? Oh, what will we do if you say no?" She grasped the letter more firmly with one hand and grabbed Bella with the other. She pulled her up off of the bed and dragged her off to find their mom, who was in the orchard somewhere.

The apricots and cherries were beginning to ripen and Renee would get the children out tomorrow to pick a batch. Then they would begin canning and drying them. She would get out the screens for drying and wash the bottles when she got back into the house. There will be a large harvest, that's for sure. God has been good to them. "Harvests have sure been plentiful these last couple of years," she thought.

She heard the back door slamming and the girls gibbering as they came quickly from the house. "Mom! Where are you? Bella has something to show you. You have got to see this! Oh, there you are," Rose quieted as they got closer.

"Yes dear, here I am. Look at all of this fruit. We will be very busy this week, starting tomorrow, so be ready first thing in the morning, girls. Now, how can I help you?"

Clearly Rose was more anxious to talk to Renee than Bella was. Rose was dragging her big sister down the path and between the trees. Bella was even blushing. Rose thrust a couple of pages into Renee's hands and she barely caught them. She looked back and forth between their faces. They had just returned with the animals from pasture, so their faces were pink, but Bella's was red and flushed.

Renee looked at the dates on the top and put the earlier one on top. It was obvious that it was from Sir Edward from the stationery and from his elegant handwriting. She read the first one with gathering apprehension. They could tell that he was attracted to her, smitten, even. But love was another whole thing. They had not even known each other for two weeks. They made Jasper wait for a couple of months after he decided he wanted Alice before they even allowed him to ask permission to court her, and six more before he was allowed to ask her to marry him. They had, after all, known each other for years growing up and in school. They were pretty solid in their relationship, and were perfect for each other. But this was different. She was starting to feel like a tornado had settled on her head. She blinked her eyes and turned to the second letter.

By the time she read that one she had to sit right down on the ground. She looked up to Rose and then to Bella. "We need to talk with your father. Come with me," She marched them out of the orchards, around the vegetable garden, across the road and to the cabin. "Jasper, where is your father?" He looked at me and then at the girls. He could see that something big was up.

"He's in the back yard with the saw. I'll take you to him." He knew this must be about Sir Edward by the stationery held tightly in her hand. He knew that his feelings must be big, as big as the gifts he had sent from the fabric, to the workers, to the new big, black, cast iron stove that now graced the kitchen. He had an idea what was on his mind. It was probably the same thing that was on his own mind for Alice. He knew he wanted to hear this conversation! He liked Sir Edward, and probably had spent more time with him than Bella had. Plus, he did a great jig from the stream to the tent! He had not laughed so hard all week. He wanted to defend him, and stand up for him and Bella. They walked to the new back yard and construction area.

"Charlie, we need to talk with you!" she stomped right over to him and stood right in his shadow.

"Of course, dear, what has you in such a lather?" he asked, concern written on his face.

"Bella got another letter from Edward. I think you should read it," she demanded, "Now."

He knew that expression on her face. He set down the wood he was currently working on and went over to a shaded log and sat on it. He motioned for her to sit with him, and noticed that the three children came with her and stood in front of them, like a wall with anxious faces. Renee gave him the two sheets of fine stationery and looked at him expectantly. He read the first one, and his jaw dropped a bit. He read it again. He calmly read the other one and read it again. He looked at Renee, who glared back at him. They both looked at Bella and he asked, "It has been a couple of weeks since he asked permission to court her. Now I ask again. What do you think of this?"

"Dad, mom, from the moment I saw him, he has totally taken over my soul. I think of no one or nothing else. He consumes me. I feel empty since he left. I want to be with him. I think, no, I'm sure that I love him. I want to marry him. I know it is too early. We barely met, yet it seems to me that I have felt like a part of me was missing until he touched me at the dance. There is a tingle every time we touch, for the whole time that we touch, which hasn't been all that much," she added thoughtfully. "I love it here. It is my home. I love the farm, my family, and the animals. I have never dreamed or thought of going anywhere else until now. I don't care where I go now, as long as it is with him. I would learn to live anywhere, together," she didn't know what more to say.

Charlie couldn't help but be touched by her. He reread the letters. He rubbed his chin over his beard. "I love you, my dear daughter. I want you to have the best blessings for your life. I didn't have any idea that this level of 'best' would be part of the offer, though. It isn't that royal life is bad, just different, and far away. One of the reasons that we take things so slowly in courtship is that life with someone lasts a long, long time. It's a long, long time to be happy, but it's also a long time to be miserable. If you really know a person before you marry them, and still love them by the end of the courtship, you are more likely to have a life-long happy relationship, instead of the alternative. Ultimately, that is all we want for you, a happy life with a husband that you adore. We have seen many couples and want you to love and support an honest and hard working man who loves you, provides for you and your children, and protects you from harm. We want him to make you feel like a princess, but never dreamed that you would be anything like one. Now it seems that the heir to the nation wants you to be his wife. It is a lot to consider.

"I remember how I felt when I was courting your mother," he reached over and took Renee's hand in his. "I thought of nothing else. I knew I loved her more than anything. I wanted to be with her, to touch her, kiss her and marry her. I still tingle when we touch. I watched Sir Edward while he was here. I saw the same things in him that I remembered from so long ago. His eyes never left you when you were near. They devoured every move that you made. He physically leaned toward you. When we were out of sight from you he still talked and asked questions about you, as he kept up the pretense of coming to see our water and farms. But it was easy to see what his real draw was. It was you, my precious girl.

"You three girls are the sparkling, shining jewels brought to me by my wondrous wife, she whom I love. She is my queen, and you are my princesses. My boys are my pride, but you are my joy. How can I give you up with so little time to get used to it?" His eyes started to get red. Renee's started to leak down her cheeks. Bella and Rose teared up, too. They had never heard Charlie talk like this. "It seems though that it is what we will be doing. Our time with you is changing for the better, I think. You will be a great wife and helpmeet for him. You will keep him humble and on the right track. There is no one better who could provide for and protect you. He seems to be sincere in his love. He is royalty. You and our grandchildren will be, too."

He turned to Renee. "What more can we ask for our daughter? I know it is unusual and the town will talk. But we don't have to listen; we're out here on the farm. As long as you are happy, I am happy. I actually really like him. It's a good thing, too, or I wouldn't even consider it." Bella was trembling in fear, but it was turning to hope. "All right, sweetheart. It's sudden, but we have had good surprises before. Do we approve?" he asked Renee.

"Yes, we approve. It is hard, but good, thank the Lord. Nevertheless, you will need to come and visit frequently. I can't do without you for long," she said through her tears. Suddenly there was a giant weeping, hugging throng. "Oh, what have we done? We no sooner marry off a son and gain a daughter and then we marry off our daughter and gain a son as well. It is too fast, too fast. It's a good thing I'm sitting down. Charlie! Charlie! It seems that there are six of us who are excited. I just felt the baby kick!"

On Friday before the wedding, Alice was allowed to stay at the Swan's home during the day, but had to return before dark. She had ridden the horse up early in the morning to take advantage of the time together. Just at lunchtime a covered wagon came onto the farm and stopped at the back door. Grandpa and Grandma Swan had teamed up with Grandpa and Grandma Higginbottom to share the trip up from Maple Valley for the wedding. The men helped the grandmas to get out, and then went around to the barn to get the animals and wagon taken care of. There were hugs and kisses all around while the men and boys brought in the luggage.

They brought in the presents, too, and everyone gathered around in the family room for an impromptu Swan family wedding shower. Each of the grandmas had embroidered a tablecloth, a set of pillowcases and a set of dishcloths. The grandfathers conspired together and each made them a rocking chair for their front porch. Alice proclaimed them to be perfect. Then Charlie brought out a package and gave it to Renee, and she gave it to Jasper. He unwrapped it and they both gasped when they saw a Bible. They opened its leather bound cover and looked inside. Renee had carefully copied all of the family data from their own into the new one for the new family. "It is for you to read one chapter each night before you go to bed. It is our tradition and we want to pass it on to you. It has brought us much happiness to read the scriptures nightly, and brought peace into our lives. Plus the book is a valuable source of family history. Don't neglect to keep up the names, dates and places here in the front as they happen, because these things slip easily from our minds." Alice cried happy tears. Bella brought over her gift. She had learned some new stitches and techniques as she helped Alice make the new dresses, and had made her a pretty light blue nightgown with lots of shirring and embroidery in a darker shade of blue. She had even made her a nightcap to top it off. Rose had worked with her, without the fanciness to make Jasper a nightshirt to match. Rachel had made some hankies with Alice's new initials embroidered in the corner. Seth had made them a little corner shelf and Liam had struggled to make a birdhouse. He tried to make it look as much as possible like the cabin, so he had looked at all of the cast off branches for straight enough ones for the little logs. Alice proclaimed that it was perfect, and that a bird family would love it, too. They thanked everyone for the presents and for the love. Most of them adjourned to the kitchen for cookies, but Alice had something planned for Bella and Jasper.

She went over to Jasper and Bella, and invited them out to the front porch. When they got there she had three presents wrapped up. "I made these to use up the last of the hair. They are for the four of us. I hope that you like them." She handed each one of them a package and then reached around and got a dark blue neck scarf with white fringe and put it around her neck. Each of the packages contained another like hers. "Since we were the first four to know about Moonlight I made these when the blanket was finished. They will commemorate to us our dear unicorn, without telling anyone what the scarves are made of. They are not decorated nor do they have any design, but they do have some of Moonlight's mom's hair in it. If there is any magic in the hair, maybe we will be healthy as we wear them. At the least, they are soft and warm. Will you give this one to Sir Edward, please? I may not see him long enough to do it."

"Oh, Alice these are wonderful! I love your thoughtfulness that you made these for us. I can wear it for good luck or good health, and no one will know the magic within it. Thank you so much! And I will give this one to Edward." cried Bella. "Thank you for thinking of us on this, the eve of your big day."

"Oh, darlin'! This is so beautiful and soft. And to think it is magic! Of course, to me anything made by your hands is magic. Thank you so much," and he kissed her. Bella cleared her throat and they broke apart. Each of them put theirs on around their necks or waists. It was, after all, July.

They ate dinner together and got ready for the night.

Jasper was escorting Alice home and would return as early as he could before it was too dark. They boys were going to sleep in the family room so that the Swans could use their room, and Renee's parents wanted to sleep in the wagon because they said they liked to sleep outside when the weather was nice. It had been a joyous reunion. They only got to see each other twice a year, and this was Jasper's wedding, a special occasion, as well.


	13. Chapter 13 - Wedding Eve

**Chapter 13 Wedding Eve**

It was Saturday afternoon. Bella and Rose brought the goats and sheep in early so they could get the last minute things done for the wedding. They would feed the stock in the corrals like they did every Sunday, though the animals had no idea what a special Sunday it was.

Bella was even more nervous than Alice. After all, Alice knew what tomorrow would bring. She had made plans and carried them out. The dresses and shirts were sewn, pressed and waiting. The food was ready to go. The cabin was ready, although Jasper wouldn't let her go to see it the last week. The workers had been invited to stay to see the wedding, because they had worked so hard to prepare the new house. The things that she was taking with her from her parent's home were there at the cabin already. The cakes were done and frosted. Her mother cried every time she looked at her, which set her off, too.

Bella was nervous about the unknown. She was meeting her prospective in-laws in the morning. Would she like them? Would they like her? Is he really going to ask her to marry him? Is there any reason for her not to accept him? She couldn't believe that her parents had given her their consent to not only have him court her, but marry him! She had so many questions about everything that she thought she would go mad. She decided that she was being selfish on the eve of Jasper, her beloved big brother and confidant's marriage.

She forced herself to stop worrying. She went downstairs and headed for the kitchen. Renee was pretty calm for having a wedding the next day, and with Bella's situation. But she had finished everything in time, which was her normal state. Her baby wasn't beginning to show yet and she looked lovely, even to her daughter. She hoped she would look as well when she is pregnant. MARRIED! MARRIED TO SIR EDWARD! LADY BELLA! PREGNANT! PREGNANT WITH HIS BABY! LIVING IN PORTSMOUTH! IN A PALACE! She was going to have a nervous breakdown.

Bella went over with Renee to the cabin one last time to make sure that it was ready for its new tenants. It was lovely. The bed was beautiful. They had finished the quilt using the "wedding ring" pattern in the colors Alice had chosen for the cabin. It had turned out very well. They had made the bed with the fantastic sheets and pillows that President and Lady Cullen had sent them for a wedding present. Bella couldn't help herself and laid down on them just to see what a fancy bed felt like. It was heavenly. Her whole body relaxed and said "Ah-h-h!" It looked so nice that Renee laid down right next to her and sighed. "This is pure luxury. I'm not sure I can ever get up!" But they did. They smoothed out the bed and went over to the table and benches that the Blacks had made for them. It was just the right thing for the cabin. Then Bella's eyes rested on the big black cast iron stove. What a surprise that big box contained. No one had any suspicion that they would get one of those for their wedding, but the Cullen's thoughtfulness helped them again. Alice had been collecting things in her anticipation of furnishing a new house and had purchased a set of cast iron pans and skillets, planning to use them over the fireplace, so this was a surprise and blessing for them. Alice's own paintings hung on the walls, giving it a finished look. Lacey curtains covered the windows and there were herbs planted in the window boxes. The outhouse was ready, too, of course. Their new cottage was all ready for them.

Bella went back over to the goats to make sure all was well with them. Moonlight came over to her and nestled up to her. She got out the brush and started to comb her, like Jasper did for Breeze and Flame. Breeze was getting big, too, and was evidently pregnant, which Bella hadn't known. Nevertheless, she talked softly to Moonlight, hummed to her and brushed out her mane and tail, which were definitely long. She pet the horn and said good night to her and left, feeling better.

As she neared the back door she could hear horses approaching, a bunch of them. She went around the side to the front and was astounded what she saw. There was Sir Edward leading a whole group of riders. There were six of them altogether. He led the charge, with a man and a woman, who looked so much like him that they could only be the president and first lady. Behind them rode Sir Eleazer and two others who were dressed in uniforms, just like his.

Bella let out a scream and ran full speed to them. Sir Edward leaped off of his horse and engulfed her in a huge embrace. Charlie and Jasper got there just in time to stop the kiss that would have been next. "Whoa down there! You are more than welcome here, but that is all you get of that sort of thing!" he asserted. Edward blushed, changed to holding her hand and turned to his parents.

Renee and the rest of the children came pouring out of the house. When they saw who was dismounting at their porch they froze. Then Renee curtsied, and they followed suit. "President Carlisle Cullen, First Lady Esme Cullen, I am pleased to present Charlie Swan, his lovely wife, Renee Swan, Jasper, their oldest son and tomorrow's groom, my Bella, her sister, Rose, brothers Seth and Liam, and sister Rachel. This is my father and mother, President Carlisle and First Lady Esme Cullen."

"We have been waiting for weeks to meet you and your family, Mr. Swan. We have heard such good things about you, and especially about your daughter, Bella. You have a very well kept farm, orchard and garden. I love the swans gliding in the pond over there."

"Thank you, my president. We work hard to keep it up. Thank you for coming to our son's wedding." He smiled, "Of course it has nothing at all to do with Bella."

"You have seen right through us, I'm afraid. Edward thought it would be less conspicuous for him to come to a wedding, in front of a whole town, than to simply try to come up and get to know you without witnesses," laughed President Cullen. "What does Bella think of all of this?"

"She says she loves him. She would probably follow him to the moon. What has he told you about his intentions toward her?" he asked cautiously.

"He says that they are in love and he wants to marry her and bring her home to Portsmouth to live as soon as possible. If it were up to him, he would marry her tomorrow with Jasper and Alice. He plans to propose to her today, so that if she says 'Yes', they can announce a wedding tomorrow at church for themselves for October. He does want to take her home with us for a week when we leave Monday, so that she can see some of what life is with us, there in the capital. They can't do that and not be at least engaged. What do you say?"

"I think that it is better for her to see it all before it is reality for her. Renee and I think that it will be all right as long as they are properly chaperoned, and will behave themselves. When will she return?"

"We will leave Tuesday morning, visit some of the towns on the way and get there on Wednesday. We will show her around, announce her at court, have an engagement ball for them on Saturday, take her to church with us on Sunday and let them come home on the ship leaving Monday, but arriving on Tuesday. He will accompany her home and will return home with the ship to resume his duties on Wednesday. His next tour is normally in October, but he wants to be here to be married October first, so he will leave on his tour on September 13. This will be his last tour stop, as usual. We will meet him here for the wedding. We will go back home and they will honeymoon for a week wherever they choose before beginning their new life.

"We may be born to this life, but we work hard to earn our living. It is not all ball gowns and diamonds. There is no fairy godmother to make them live happily ever after. It is a demanding job, and will be for her as well. Since she is used to this more peaceful place, with more of a chance to make her own choices and live how she chooses, it will be a big adjustment for her. Esme was a farm girl, too, however, and adjusted to it well. She can be a big help for Bella. Bella can be a big influence on him, and keep Edward grounded and make him whole. He had not, to this point in his life, found his beacon in life. Esme thought the beacon might be a wife who would complete him. She has earnestly been introducing him to every eligible maiden in town. He never believed in her cause, and resisted all of her attempts to help him find the happiness we have.

"Now he has found that his mother was right all along, but found Bella on his own when he needed her the most. Earlier in the year he had terrible dreams that kept him up nightly, and was ruining his health and well-being. Now that he has found her he no longer has those nightmares. That in itself is a big relief. He is happy and healthy with her."

Esme stepped up to the men and turned to Charlie, "Would it be a big imposition if we could see Jasper and Alice's new home? I would really like to see how it looks before I go."

"I'm sure that Jasper would love to show you how much difference your help has made in their lives." He looked around and spotted him. "Jasper, would it be all right if President and Lady Cullen see the cabin? Would you like to lead the tour?" Charlie called to him. Jasper turned around quickly, grinning.

"I can't tell you how much your help has made our lives better! Those men knew what they were doing, and sawed, stripped, sanded, assembled, and made everything fit. If I had been left alone with my old dad here, and my little brother, Seth, the gaps between the logs in the winter or the summer, or the rain, would have made us miserable. As it is, not only did they fit perfectly, there were so few gaps we were hard pressed to find any at all. He led them across the road, up the path, up to the door and opened it for them, stepping aside so that they could enter first. He led them to the left to the "bedroom".

"The bed is the best thing I have ever seen to sleep on. Alice is sure that the word will spread about it and people will trek all the way out here just to see and lay on it. The sheets are like clouds, and are so beautiful that Alice wept with joy when she saw them. She was hard put to wait for it to be assembled to make the bed." He walked them over to the "Kitchen".

"The stove is so wonderful. We were ready to cook right from the fireplace, so this is a real luxury. Mom will teach us how to use it. I love that it has not only a stove and an oven, but also a tank for keeping water hot any time that the fire is burning. Plus there is the warming shelf above the burners to keep anything warm. We were able to make a sink and countertop next to it.

There are six windows, not counting the one in the door, and you can see what Alice did for them with your fabric and lace. It looks like a fairy palace and we really appreciated your gifts for us. Thank you so very much."

The dinner bell was rung from the Swan's house, and they all went to the back yard where a makeshift table and any bench or chair that could be found was set up to feed the fifteen of them. It was a good thing that the Cullens had brought food to add to the menu that night so that they could all eat together.

At the end of the meal, but before anyone (even the guards) had a chance to move away Sir Edward stood up and took Bella by both hands. He knelt on knee, which surprised no one, and spoke to Bella, "Bella, my beautiful and enchanting love. You are the most important thing that ever has been in my life after my parents. You are everything to me. You make me feel complete. I hate to leave you. I yearn for you when we are apart, and feel like I am missing my right arm. I awake missing you. I daydream of you when I am awake and have **good** dreams of you when I sleep. I want you to be mine forever, because I will love you all through this life and in the promised life to come afterward. Will you marry me and be my wife, my lover and children's mother (at which she blushed), my companion, my guide, my nurse, my teacher and ruler? I will care for and protect you to the best of my ability, and provide for you and our family, no matter what befalls us. Will you marry me? He held up a ring for her finger, hopefully."

Even though she was startled that he proposed in front of everybody, she was ready for a reply, "Well, I don't know…I always saw myself as the wife of a simple farmer far from the world of the city. I never wanted fancy dresses or jewelry, or a big house and fancy carriages." Everyone was startled to hear her words. Edward's face blanched. Did this mean a refusal? She took a breath. "However, I have fallen in love with **you**, you rascal. None of the rest of that matters any more. All that matters to me now is to be with you all the time, forever. I guess that means, yes I will marry you!" and before anyone could do or say anything she let go of his hands, grabbed his face and kissed him hard right on the mouth. His eyes bugged out, and just when he realized that she was kissing him, and how much he liked it, it was over. He placed the ring on her waiting shaking finger. By that time everyone was around them and he had no time for another kiss. He wanted more, like a thirsty man in the desert, a denied thirsty man in the desert. October couldn't get here soon enough.

"Are you sure we can't just get married it in the morning?" he asked her. "Everyone's here already. I am ready, you are ready."

"No, even though I might like to get married to you tomorrow, it would steal the thunder from Alice and Jasper. We haven't announced our engagement, so the paperwork isn't in order. You troublemaker, you know better. You are not thinking straight!" she teased him.

"Well, how about another of those terrific kisses, then?"

"No! She snuck that one in because she knew I wouldn't permit it!" came her father's booming voice. "October will be soon enough!"

After dinner the President and Lady and their entourage rode back to Twin Forks so that they could sleep in their ship, including Edward. Everyone had seemed to get along well. Carlisle and Charlie had talked a long time, and she guessed that everything was all right. If it was okay with her dad, her mom was usually of the same mind. Bella felt blissful. She floated on a cloud.

The Swan family had their nighttime ritual after the dishes were cleared away. Charlie chose the chapter in Genesis where Isaac married Rebecca, which was appropriate. They said prayers and went to bed.


	14. Chapter 14 - Jasper and Alice's Wedding

**Chapter 14 Jasper and Alice's Wedding**

It was a beautiful July 7, 1859 morning. It proved to be an early morning for the Swan clan. They first had to take care of the animals, feeding them and cleaning out the stalls, and then getting washed up and ready for church, and the wedding. By the time that everything was taken care of at the farm and they were ready to prepare themselves, the pond water had had enough time to soak up some warmth, and the men had a bath party in it, even the grandpas. The ducks, geese and swans flapped and squawked as they retreated. The guys played around more than washed, and their laughter carried up and into the windows of the house where the women bathed quickly in the heated water and got dressed. The guys had already loaded everything into the wagons and soon they headed off to town, the church and the wedding.

They went the five miles as fast as they could without hurting the horses. They could tell as they drove by that the Blacks had already gone to town. As planned, they met President and Lady Cullen at the docks so that they could get into the covered wagon for the three block trip to the church. They had decided that 'roughing it' for three blocks was better than blocking traffic from people stopping to stare. It had been a few years since the President and First Lady had been up to Twin Forks, and it was sure to draw attention now.

The men helped the women get out, and Edward was eager to help Bella, which was the reason Charlie made sure that Seth did it. All fifteen of them entered the chapel and shook the bishop's hand. He greeted them warmly to the humble church. He asked President Cullen if he had anything that he wanted to say to the congregation, and he declined, saying he was just there for the meeting and Jasper and Alice's wedding, but thanked him for the offer.

It was a lovely service. The hymns were sung, the sacrament was served and talks were given by the bishop and a member of the congregation. The congregation had been hard pressed to not stare at the Cullens. The whispering was even harder to stop. When the benediction was done the bishop asked, as usual, if there were any announcements.

Charlie stood up with a couple of others and went to the front, to wait their turns. When the other two were done Charlie took to the podium. He figured that there would be an uproar when he gave Bella's news, so he'd better be last so that the others would get proper recognition. "The Swan family has a couple of announcements. First, my wife is expecting a baby and is due in the Fall." The congregation murmured their pleasure. They remembered what the doctor had said after Rachel was born. This was good news, indeed. Then he said, "Our second announcement is that our second child, our daughter Bella is going to get married." The crowd gasped and looked around to find her. "She said 'Yes' to Sir Edward Cullen last night and they would like to be married in October after church. Will you two please stand up so everyone can see you?" They stood, even though there was little need for it. Everyone knew what they looked like. The congregation was thunder struck, staring and silent. He hadn't expected the silence, but shrugged his shoulders and then turned to leave the podium and sit down. At that point the silence ceased, and thunder took its place. Everyone had questions, congratulations, comments, etc.

It took fifteen minutes for the bishop to calm everyone down and get them ready for the pre-announced ordinances to be done. Normally, half of the congregation went home at this point, but not this time. Everyone stayed for Jasper's wedding to see the Cullens. But first there was a baby to be blessed and given a name. The baby cried the whole time, which was almost normal. Then a new member was baptized. Then another wedding was performed, and it was very nice.

When it was Alice and Jasper's turn, the whispering began again, gaining volume. The bishop asked anyone that was not involved or who didn't know either family to leave, that a marriage was not a spectacle. Some people actually did leave. As was the custom, the family of the betrothed came forward and sat in the front of the chapel, which was cleared out after church for this purpose. There were the eight from the Swan family, the four grandparents, the Black family, six Cullens and the seven workers. The Brandons had four in their family, and four grandparents. There was a respectable number for a wedding people in the front. Friends were left to fend for themselves to find a place to sit, and suddenly lots of people were friends.

The bishop began with the "Dearly Beloved" and ended with "You may now kiss the bride," and all was well with Jasper and Alice. He embraced her and kissed her sweetly and tenderly. The bishop asked for the congregation to give them peace and respect during the luncheon, and to not go there if they weren't expected. They thanked the bishop, apologizing for the added drama. They wondered what will happen in October, with a two month warning. It will be mayhem. They then finished gathering their things and headed for the shade and grass outside. They quickly set up the food and quietly ate together. Jasper and Alice were on a time schedule, and had places to go, and things to do. They were the first to leave.

"Good-by! See you in a week!" called Alice to everyone.

"Where are you going?" called Bella.

"Jasper won't tell me, I don't know," and her father whisked them away in his small carriage to the docks where a small boat awaited them.

"Where would you like to go with me on our honeymoon?" Sir Edward crooned in her ear.

"Since I have never been anywhere, I choose everywhere!" she retorts.

"We only have a week for our honeymoon. You will have to whittle that list down a little," he chuckles.

"Where ever you pick will be new to me," she deferred to him.

"Actually, I don't plan on going out much for our honeymoon. I have indoor activities that I'd like to do with you," he hinted.

"Why, Sir Edward! I can't believe you just said that! Where would you get such notions?" she asked.

"Women aren't the only ones who talk to each other."

"No, we aren't, but we trade recipes and how to remove stains from tablecloths."

"I'll bet that after we are married you will have other things to talk about."

"Never!"

"We'll see," he was entirely too confident.

"Sir Edward?"

"You can just call me Edward now and drop the 'Sir' part; I am your fiancée now."

"Edward…" she whispered, as he stepped closer to her.

"Oh, I like that, say it again." She took a step forward, too.

"Edward?" they came within inches of touching.

"Yes, say it again!"

"Edward!" he bent over and whispered into her ear. She gasped.

"Yes, Bella, dear?" She looked into his eyes, which were very, very close to hers. They were not touching, however.

"Oh, no. You got me so flustered that I forgot what I was going to ask!"

"I flustered you?" he reached for her hand and put it to his chest, over his heart.

"You did that on purpose! You are a scoundrel!" and she used her hand on his chest to push him back. They laughed at each other. That flirting stuff was fun.

"All right, let me pick the honeymoon. I'll ask around quietly and find us the perfect spot."

"That sounds good to me. That's enough time on the subject of where we spend our week alone. We only have the rest of today, which is mostly gone, and tomorrow before we have to part again. I want to spend it happily with you."

They packed everything to go home in the wagon and the Swans caravan went home after dropping the Cullens off at the ship. Edward couldn't bear to sleep in the ship away from her, and it was arranged that he could go the farm and stay the night, but that they must come to the ship as soon as breakfast was done on Monday so that they could leave first thing in the morning for home. Both wagons made their way to the farm and the grandparents doted on the children who were left.

Edward and Bella went out to check on the goats. He wanted to see if he could get Moonlight to be less afraid of him. She looked up at Bella first, and then looked at the scarf that she wore around her neck. Bella let her explore it. She smelled her own blanket, and then Bella's scarf again. She seemed to be making the connection. As they were doing this, Edward was taking quiet, very small steps toward them. He was getting fairly close and he paused a moment. Moonlight looked around and spotted him. She jerked, but Bella was still soothing her and she didn't run. He knelt down so that he wasn't such a threat. He started to whistle a lullaby to her, but she was on alert. She watched him, and her nose twitched toward him and his scarf. She seemed to calm, and looked like she wouldn't bolt away, but he didn't take the chance. He stayed where he was just whistling softly. Bella said to him softly, "You're closer than Jasper has been, you're doing well." They just continued what they were doing for a while longer. Edward's knees were beginning to ache and he winced when he shifted. Bella saw it and began to let go of her. She separated from the nanny and Moonlight, and then slowly got up and walked to Edward. She offered him a hand and helped him get up. They stood there together for a couple of minutes as Moonlight stared at them. Bella got brave there in the dark and reached her arms around Edward and hugged him. He was surprised, but thrilled. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her to him. He swayed back and forth, and she hummed the lullaby to Moonlight. Edward thought it was a magical moment. All too soon Bella said goodbye to the animals and they retreated slowly. When they got out of the pen and closer to the house she jumped up and down and quietly cheered, not wanting to startle the animals. "You did it! You got close to her and she didn't run away! Good job!"

He took advantage of the glee in the air, and her good mood and encircled her in his arms again. Before she could think he kissed her. If he thought the first one was good, it was nothing when compared to this one. She stilled in his arms, and hers traveled up his and met at the back of his neck. That was when Seth came out of the stalls with a bucket of milk. He almost dropped it. "Bella, what do you think you are doing? Goodness gracious first it's Jasper and Alice, now it's you two. It's getting to be a hazardous place out here in the barn!" They broke apart, of course, but the feeling of the kiss lingered on their lips. She wondered what she had missed between Seth, Jasper and Alice, though. They held hands as they went into the house.

The look on their faces told the story Seth didn't have to tell when they got inside. Grandpa Swan took one look at them and scowled to her, "How were the goats, Bella?" he asked.

"The goats? Oh, yes, the goats. Well, they are well. They were all bedded down." She saw the look in her father's eyes and knew she had been caught. "I sat with the nanny and Moonlight for almost a half of an hour. Edward was creeping up on us and got about five feet away. He just knelt there and whistled for a while, while I pet Moonlight to keep her calm. She didn't even stand up. It was good," she explained.

"Not as good as the barn," added Seth, grinning.

"Seth! Be quiet!" she admonished him. He laughed at her as she turned as red as a tomato.

Her father was fast, "Too late. Your faces told on you already. Are you guys ready to handle yourselves properly? The city is a different world. People are different than in Twin Forks; I can't imagine what they are like in Portsmouth. Edward, what do you have to say?"

"I'm sorry, sir, we were so happy at seeing Moonlight so close up and we were coming through the barn, and…"

"I can guess the rest" Charlie said. He wasn't as mad as they thought he was. He remembered how it was with Renee when they were engaged. It was actual work not to hug and kiss her. As that thought came into his mind's eye, it gleamed and his mouth turned into a smile a tiny bit. "All right, everyone in the family room!" he boomed.

After scripture reading and prayers, Seth and Liam escorted Edward to their family room to bed down. Bella went with her sisters to their room and closed the door. "What happened in the barn?" interrogated Rose.

"Oh, my goodness! We were so happy that Moonlight allowed Edward…"

"Edward, not Sir Edward?" Rose interrupted.

"He told me I didn't have to use the 'sir' in private now that we are engaged," she explained. "Anyway, he hugged me. It was so nice! But we only hugged for a minute…"

"A whole minute?" she interrupted again.

"Yes, and it was wonderful, but not long. Then we headed through the barn for the house, but we were still elated. I was bouncing up and down on my feet as we walked, and the next thing I knew I was surrounded by his strength and warmth, and he was kissing me!"

Rose gasped, "He kissed you? In the barn? On the lips? How was it? What did it feel like?"

"Rose, that was personal!"

"It sure was! Tell me anyway," she demanded. Rachel stirred in her bed. They quieted down so that they didn't wake her up.

"It made me feel warm and tingly. His arms were strong when they pulled me close to him. The kiss was wonderful! It took my breath away! We only kissed for a minute, and I raised my arms around his neck to pull him closer, when Seth caught us. You saw the rest. Would dad keep me from going to Portsmouth in the morning because we kissed?"

"I don't think so. He was grinning at the end of his tirade."

"He was? I missed that. I was afraid and was looking at my feet."

"I doubt that he would forbid you from going. It is a really important thing for you to go and see what your new life will be like."

"I know. Will you help me get packed, please? I'm going to take all four of my dresses and both of my nightgowns. I feel rich having a fourth dress, and it is so pretty. Alice sure knows how to sew."

"I know how you feel. I can't remember the last time, if ever, that we had four dresses apiece! What else is going?" Rose looked around to see what more was going.

"I'll be wearing my shoes, and I probably should take both my sweater and shawl, because I don't know what the weather is like down there next to the ocean. I'm sure I won't need my coat, though. Wait, if I take the hairbrush, you won't have one for your or Rachel's hair."

"We'll use mom's. Okay that pretty well does it. You have your locket on, so you won't need to pack that. What about a washcloth and towel?"

"Rose, didn't you see those linens Lady Cullen sent Alice? I'm sure there will be plenty of towels and washcloths at the palace. I think that this is everything. I'm glad that my Sunday dress is different from my new dress. I can wash anything I need before I wear them again."

"Okay, you're ready. I'm so excited for you that I will hardly be able to sleep," moaned Rose.

"How can I sleep? I'm on pins and needles. Will they like me? Will they be nice to me? Edward says that he will only be with me half of the time. That alone sends me into fantasies of hugging and kissing him. I'll never sleep!" Bella lamented.

She was asleep due to exhaustion before a full minute had elapsed after her head hit the pillow.


	15. Chapter 15 - Bella's Trip to Portsmouth

**Chapter 15 Bella's Trip to Portsmouth**

The roosters didn't know how tired Bella was. All they knew was that it was dawn, as the sun was coming up over the hills. They did their job, and crowed. There was work to be done.

Rose would take care of the goats, combining them with the sheep while Bella was gone. The canning and drying would continue without her, even though it would be more work for the rest of them. Even Rachel would help this year. She got up, washed, dressed and took her bag downstairs. She went to the kitchen with Rose and helped get breakfast ready. The men soon followed the smell of the bacon to its source. Edward looked good in the morning to Bella, but then she was probably prejudiced. His eyes never left her as the food was set out. After the blessing was done Renee asked, "Is there anything else you need, dear? Are you all ready to go?" she looked near to tears.

"My bags are by the door, and I'll be ready as soon as the dishes are done," she replied.

"Oh, my baby, I will miss you this week. I see that it is good for you to go, but I've never been separated from you before. It was bad enough for Jasper to leave, and now you'll be gone, too. My babies are growing up and beginning to spread their wings," she had a tremor in her voice. Bella ran over to her and gave her a big hug. She was near tears, too.

"Wait a minute, where's mine? I'll miss you, too!" said her father. Bella went to him and gave him a big hug, and then continued on around the table to each person. They finished breakfast and Edward helped Bella do the dishes, something new to him. At least he didn't break anything. They put the dishes away and went out to the barn. Edward had picked up the bag and fastened it behind the saddle. They would ride double into town, and the bag might make the ride softer. They would find out, a least.

They went out into the corral so that she could say goodbye to the goats and Moonlight. When they saw her, they eagerly came over to the gate, expecting her to take them out to the pasture to eat, but that was not the plan today. She petted each one of them, especially Moonlight. Edward had been standing next to the gate and was watching Moonlight. He reached out to her, and whistled the same song to her. He could see her much better in the sunlight. She didn't shy away, but she didn't get closer, either. When Bella was done they each gave Charlie, Renee all four grandparents, who were also leaving, a handshake or a hug, walked over to Midnight and mounted.

Bella had ridden double before, but with her siblings. Riding with Edward right in front of her was a different experience altogether. She waved to everyone again, and took a deep breath. Edward nudged Midnight and off they went, to explore her anticipated new life.

The ride was smooth. Midnight had a steady, smooth gait. Bella was shy, and only held on to Edward's shirt and vest lightly. She got a brainstorm after passing the Black's house and decided that she needed to hold on tighter. She shifted closer to him, until her front pressed into his back, wrapped her arms around him, and laid her cheek on his back. It felt so good that she moaned. He turned his head around a bit to her and asked, "Oh, you feel good doing that. I like it. I wish I could trade you places. Next time, you'll be in the front and I will be behind you with my arms around you."

They rode on at a trot until they got to the beginnings of civilization. She thought that most people would be alarmed at such an intimate embrace, even if it was to hold on (she told herself). She scooted back a bit and went back to barely touching him. "I wish you could hold on like you were, but I can see why you need to put space between us. I miss the hugging, though." They continued through town until they reached the pier with his parent's ship. It was big, but plain. You wouldn't know that the President and First Lady were inside. They dismounted, and he reached up to help her down. He took her at her waist and slowly brought her down with her body coming past his face closely. The horse was led away to be taken care of and put in the hold with the others. He told one of the workers to take Bella's bags to her room, and then took her hand and walked her up the gangplank, onto the deck and down to the dining and living room where he suspected his parents might be.

It was almost 9:00 in the morning, but they were still eating breakfast. "Oh, Edward, dearest, I'm delighted that you are here already. We are ready to sail now that you are here. Welcome Bella, I am so glad to see you. I'm looking forward to getting to know you this coming week," exclaimed Esme.

His father greeted them, "Edward, welcome back, son. Now we can get on our way," he turned to the servant at the door. "Will you tell the captain we can now push off? We'll follow the itinerary that we set up." The fellow left the room in a hurry. "Come and have some breakfast with us," he invited. She didn't notice the inquiring look Lady Esme gave Edward, nor the tiny nod he gave back to her. She was missing a lot this morning while her thoughts were on Edward.

"We ate breakfast at 7:00. Bella, her mother and sisters make terrific meals. However, that waffle looks good, too." He walked her over to the table and held out a chair for her to sit in, sat down next to her and served himself.

"Thank you kindly, President Cullen, but I'm fine. Maybe I'll have something later, but I'm still full from this morning," Bella answered, smiling.

"What are we doing today, dad?" he inquired.

"We are headed for home. We'll stop at Covington and Newcastle for an hour each and see how things have changed since we came through three years ago. We don't get up here very often and the mayors have both agreed to give us quick tours. We have your tour notes and have sent questions ahead for them to be ready to answer based on things that you saw. Good report, by the way," said President Carlisle.

"Thank you. I appreciate that you have read them. As I recall, the mayor of Covington is Steve Tanner. They were concerned about cooperation between some of the craft guilds, wool production, yarn making and weaving. Newcastle's mayor is George Sanders, who is having problems with roads and transportation. I know that these are not exactly in the jurisdiction of agriculture, but it is what was on their minds a month ago." The boat lurched a bit as it got under way.

"All right, we will proceed from that point. Would you like to come with us, Bella? It would be a good chance to see what we do every day. It will also be your first chance, I hear, to see your neighboring county seats."

"I would love to come with you!" she said.

"Um-m-m, Esme, do you think that she should wear something more appropriate to represent our family?" hinted President Cullen.

"Let me make sure I have this correctly. We are talking with some people who deal with wool and weaving, right?" she checked.

"That's right, dear," he said, patiently.

"Bella is a daughter of a farmer and rancher?" she continued.

"Yes, of course," President Cullen puzzled.

"Bella is very familiar with sheep and goats?"

"Very familiar. We take them out most days of the week to the pastures and tend them there. In the spring we shear them and sell the wool. They are a big part of my life," Bella answered for herself, even though Esme was addressing her husband.

"Yes, dear," he added.

"And her new sister-in-law is a weaver, yes?"

"She is extremely skilled in weaving," said Edward.

"And is agriculture not only the foundation of our economy, but an honorable one, too?" she summed it all up for him.

"Yes, dear, I see where you are going with this. Bella, I meant no offense. Your dress is clean and well-made. You look lovely in it. Not only that, but it might actually be in our favor for you to come with us and give us insight into this dilemma. I would very much like you to come with us. Will you please still come after I take my foot out of my mouth?"

Bella had been looking more and more concerned as this conversation took place, but now she laughed, "Yes, of course I will go with you, if Edward does. I would love to see some of the cities and meet some of the people. I'm not sure that I will have anything to contribute, but I'd like to go, nevertheless."

Lady Esme concluded to Bella, "Good! It's settled. I won't go in what I have on, because a nightgown is definitely out of order, but I promise not to wear satins and laces. Just give me time to change and get ready."

Back at the farm, Renee opened the letter that Edward had covertly thrust into her hand while he gave her a hug good bye, which read:

July 8, 1859

Dear Almost In-Laws,

I have an idea that might be really exciting. We will be having an Engagement Ball next Saturday at 8:00 p.m. at the palace. Would it be at all possible for you to sail down for it? I will send the ship for you. You can sail back when Edward brings Bella home on the 15th and be back on the farm on the 16th. Would you be able to hire Paul to watch the farm again? We would love to pay for all of your expenses, including Paul. You could leave on Friday, the 12, so it would be for those five days. We could arrange to give you a quick tour of the city, and make sure that includes a stop at the dressmaker and tailor's shop, so that you will have clothes for the ball.

There is no time to write back and forth to confirm this, so I am going to presume that your answer is yes and proceed from there. If you cannot all come, the ship will bring all who can. So let me sum it all up:

Friday July 12 9:00 a.m. Leave dock at Twin Forks bound for Portsmouth

Saturday July 13 9:00 a.m. Leave Portsmouth dock to go shopping, tour , dress

Saturday July 13 8:00 p.m. Surprise Bella at the engagement ball

Sunday July 14 9:00 a.m. Attend church with us and visit for the day

Monday July 15 9:00 a.m. Leave dock at Portsmouth bound for Twin Forks

Tuesday July 16 5:00 p.m. Arrive at Twin Forks and return home

I am looking forward to seeing you again to see if we can pull this surprise off.

Let me warn you of one thing, though. Bishop Caius will try his best to convince you to have the wedding in the capital in his chapel. He will say that it is the national chapel, and the wedding is a national event. He will probably say that his chapel will be better able to handle the crowd that will want to come. He won't say anything of the status it might give him or the pride he would feel doing it, or the income he will receive. Traditionally, this is the bride's choice, and I totally leave it up to Bella and you. I am so happy with my son's choice of a wife that I could have it in the middle of Beaver Lake if they wanted it there. I am totally excited for this wedding anywhere, anytime.

Sincerely,

First Lady Esme Cullen

**Mr. & Mrs. Charlie & Renee Swan and their family,**

**Jasper & Alice**

**Rose & Seth**

**Liam & Rachel**

**Are cordially invited to the**

**Engagement Ball**

**For**

**Sir Edward Cullen**

**And**

**Miss Bella Swan**

**Saturday July 13, 1859**

**8:00 P.M.**

**At the**

**Royal Palace**

**Portsmouth, Columbia**

Renee laughed as she finished the letter and walked over to the brass bell to gather the family. They had some plans to make.

As the ship followed the current downstream Edward showed Bella around so she could see how it works, and also its amenities. It may not have looked fancy from the dock, but it was beautiful inside. It was a palace to Bella. She couldn't help but notice that Sir Eleazer was always with them as their chaperone, just like Edward had promised her dad. She got used to having the body guard and chaperone with them after a while.

About an hour and a half later the ship pulled in to a pier at what she assumed was Covington. It was a little larger than Twin Forks, but not much. There was a large group of people waiting for them at the pier. The military gave them a royal salute and escort. The mayor gave them a welcoming speech. President Cullen and Sir Edward gave short speeches and he introduced her as his fiancée. The people cheered and the Cullens shook a hundred people's hands. The mayor brought an open carriage and took them on a scenic tour of his wondrous city. When they got to the civic center they all went in and sat down at a table for a fruit snack, which was delicious. Bella wasn't sure where Edward was putting all of this food, but she had seen Jasper's appetite, so she just figured that men eat more than women.

When they were through the mayor led them to a formal meeting room. The Cullens were introduced to the wool growers, the yarn spinners and the weavers. The weavers felt like they were more skilled than the others, and wanted a bigger percentage than the other two. Each stated their point of view. The discussion turned less friendly and more into a debate, then almost a war. The mayor hammered his gavel and regained quiet. He seemed desperate and turned to his monarch. "What do you think?" he implored.

"I defer to my wife, who knows about sheep, wool and things like that."

"Thank you President Cullen. As you know I was born and raised on a farm. We had a few sheep, some chickens, and such. We were pretty much self-sufficient. What we couldn't grow or produce didn't exist to us. Many families live this way. They are strong members of our society. The farmers are the background for life. However, there are getting to be more people who live in cities now than live on farms. The city people do not grow the food that they eat, nor do they create the fabric which is used to create the clothes they wear. The farmers or ranchers produce the raw material. They take it to market or sell their raw products to wholesalers. They prepare the raw materials into a form which can be utilized for many uses. In this case, the cotton and wool is made into thread and yarn. This is sold to those who make them into cloth. Then this cloth is sold in the city to the tailors and seamstresses, who make them into clothing, and sell them to the public. Do I have the process correctly?"

"Yes, Lady Cullen that is generally the process. We are dealing with the growers, those who spin the cotton and wool into thread and yarn, and those who make the thread and yarn into cloth. We have, in the past divided the profits equally among them. The weavers now assert that their skill is to the point where it takes more education, training and finesse to do their part of the process. They claim that this makes their portion of the work more intricate and important than the other two, which should bring them a bigger part of the profit," the mayor summed it all up. "The other two groups disagree."

At this, Bella was getting antsy in her chair. She tugged on Edward's sleeve and whispered into his ear. He looked at her with surprise and grinned. He had tried to stay out of this, having heard it all a month ago, and passed it on to his father with his authority. However, this little disturbance caught Lady Cullen's attention, too. "Sir Edward, do you have something to add to this situation that will aid them in the solution?"

"Actually I don't, but Bella might." Her eyes almost fell out of her head. She froze on the spot. Lady Cullen stood and turned around to take her hand and bring her to the front.

"Bella, do you have something which might help?" she hoped.

"I have my opinion," she squeaked, "for all it is worth."

"I would like to hear your opinion," said President Cullen.

It was a good thing she had already used the water closet or she would have been in trouble now. She gulped a big breath and let it out slowly. She inhaled again and began, "It is a matter of everyone cooperating toward the completion of a good product. Each person respects and gives honor to the others for a job well done. Let me tell you about my background. My father has one of the farthest Northerly ranches in the country next to the foothills at the base of Mount Columbia. He and my mother have six children, three sons and three daughters. My father is a good and honest man, and he has tried to pass this on to us.

"We raise cattle and have some dairy cows to make butter, cheeses and so forth. We do have two horses, but we use them to ride or pull the wagon, so they are not for sale. We have goats and dairy goats, for more cheeses. We raise some sheep and shear them annually for the wool. We sell those which are more than we need for our own use. We have pigs for our own food, and sell a few per year at market. We have chickens for the meat and for the eggs. We have some ducks, a couple of geese for market and for food, and a couple of swans, for our namesakes. We grow wheat, oats, and berries, have a vegetable garden and an orchard. In the orchard we have apples, cherries, peaches, pears and plums. My mother sells the surplus products from the orchard and garden. We all help. Our neighbors have a similar farm, but the crops do not match. We and they barter some of what we each grow, and trade. That way the variety available to both of us is better. It works well for us.

"Our family works the farm together. My parents started us when we were young, and then, as we grew, we had more responsibilities as we show ourselves capable. My youngest sister Rachel, works near the house and cares for the chickens, as Liam cares for the geese, ducks and swans when they get home from school. Seth is in his last year in school, so he concentrates on his education, but also has charge of the pigs. My sister, Rose takes the sheep to the pastures nearby. I take the goats into the hills for their pastures. Jasper works with the cattle. I can do everything my mother does, as Jasper does everything my dad does. We all do the fruits and vegetables. Even the boys help with canning and drying. If our neighbors need help, we are there to give it, and visa versa.

"My youngest brother and sister do the job which is assigned to them to the best of their ability. Rachel's job with the chickens is very important. Because she does a good job of it, we get good results in our chickens. So it goes up to my parents. One does not criticize the other, usually, and we work together when there is a problem or a celebration.

"My brother got married yesterday to a wonderful girl who spins wool and thread and weaves them into the most beautiful cloth, blankets and tapestries. They have homesteaded the property across from our farm and he plans to have crops for food for their new family and for the horses that he plans to have. She is going to learn how to garden and we are helping her plant it, and some fruit trees. She will continue to spin her threads and yarns and weave for her cash 'crop'. Her tapestries and blankets are her special talent. It is different than my mother's canning and drying fruits and vegetables, but both are good. They are honest ways to help provide for the family, and bring satisfaction to them.

"My favorite fruit is the pear. However, it is only part of the whole plant. The roots hold the tree fast to the ground and bring nourishment to the trunk. It does not think that it is the best, most important part of the tree. The trunk transports the nutrients upward to the branches, leaves and fruit. It does its own job and it does it well. So it goes for those branches, leaves and fruit. Without any one part of it, the plant cannot fulfill its purpose, which is to reproduce those tiny little seeds, the promise of a constant, unchanging future, which is beneficial for all.

"You have a product here. Your product is the clothing that people wear. There are many steps to get the clothing from the farm and into people's wardrobes. The first step is at the farms where the flax, cotton or wool is grown. The wool comes from the hair of the sheep. It is used to make wool yarn. The health and well-being of the sheep is vital to a good strong hair fiber. Flax is a plant that is grown, and parts are used as a fiber to make linen cloth. Cotton is harvested to make cotton cloth. The nutrients in the soil are vital to growing cotton or flax. If the soil is not healthy, the fibers of the crops will not be strong enough to make thread or yarn.

"Good wool, cotton and flax are coaxed from the ground by wise farmers. They know

what they are doing and do all they can to keep their animals and plants at the peak of health. Then their product will be the best quality, and get the best price over the others who were not as wise or careful.

"Those who buy the wool, cotton and flax know how to card and spin it so that it can be used for a variety of threads and yarns. Some of them need to be very fine, or soft, or sturdy, or hardy, depending on the need. The spinners know how to do this. It is possible that a spinner has never spent a day in the fields to grow the raw product, but that does not matter. His or her part is to use their knowledge, training and skill to make a product that will do its job well. It will not break too easily, nor unravel. It will go through the eye of the needle from the beginning of the spool to the end. It will be dyed beautiful colors to make beautiful cloth, and also the thread used to sew the pieces of the cloth into a piece of clothing.

"The person buying the thread or yarn to make the cloth or tapestry, rug or blanket may not know how to get the raw product, or how to even make the thread or yarn, but they know how to set up the loom and weave the beautiful threads and yarns into cloth. Some cloth may be strong, like canvas for sails and tents, others will be delicate, like for organdy, thin enough to see through. This person knows how to make it. They also know how to use the thread and yarn to make intricate designs while weaving them, or embroidering them later. The weavers are important. It takes years to be able to weave with any precision and proficiency at all. But the same can be said of the growers, or the spinners.

"Each of these trades is important, like the parts of a tree are important, and like the people of my family are important. They each have their responsibilities and functions. Together they make a whole. One part must not become as selfish and proud as to think that he is more or better than another. Together, the whole product is viable and perfect. Without one, they all fail. Alone, there is no product at all.

"If my brothers and sisters were having an argument over such things at my home, my mother would tell us to get over our pride and self-righteousness. We help each other. We love each other, and the whole family is benefited by our cooperation. My mother is a wise woman. You should listen to her words."

Bella had run out of things to say, so she turned around and sat back down next to Sir Edward. He was looking at her in astonishment. She thought she must have really done badly. That last bit was probably better kept to herself, she guessed. She blushed deeply.

It was at this point that the mayor stood up and applauded. President and Lady Cullen joined him. Sir Edward yelled, "Yes!' and cheered the loudest.

Lady Cullen turned around and looked at her secretary and asked, "Did you get all of that?"

"Yes, I think so. She didn't speed through it, and I think I got it all," gasped the woman. She dropped the pencil and clasped and released her hand repeatedly to restart the blood flow.

"Thank you very much for your insightful thoughts, Miss Swan. I think you have hit the nail right on the head, so to speak. I think we can handle it from here, President Cullen. She is brilliant. Thank you very much for taking time from your vacation to come speak to us today. My men will take you to the carriage where my deputy will lead you on the rest of the tour of Covington. We will proceed with our negotiations with your words in mind. Thank you very much."

Bella left with the rest. She looked at Edward with fear in her eyes. "Did I do so badly up there that they are escorting us out? How stupid I was, for telling them too much about my personal life. My father will be appalled. I am so sorry, Edward. I have caused you embarrassment. I will never speak in public again."

"Oh, my sweet Bella. That was the best speech I have ever heard. You told them the problem, likened it to something else that was neutral so that they could relate and understand it, and then told them what to do, or not to do. It was brilliant! They were so fired up that they wanted to get right on it before they forgot everything and became petty again. We had originally scheduled half an hour to be there, while listening to them bash each other about their egos, and instead spent the best half an hour watching a no-nonsense girl from a remote farm tell them how to solve their problem with pride. I have a feeling that your little off-the-cuff speech will go down in the history books."

"What?"

"Mom's secretary always takes everything down as a transcript in case anyone has a question about what has been said. Your talk was fully documented. I'll bet that she has it printed in the paper this week and makes sure it's included in this month's Journal."

"NO!"

"Yes," said a feminine voice from right behind them. "That was the best speech I've ever heard. Everyone will be talking about it when it hits the newspapers. I'll send a copy to your father personally. He should hear how wise his daughter is."

Bella was afraid to utter more than pleasantries at Newcastle. They were having problems moving everything from one place to another. The roads were not in good repair, and there was no pattern or sense to them. It was hard to get from the main county seat to the smaller suburbs and visa versa. It was a massive problem. They needed a total overhaul of the entire transportation system. They really probably needed to move or demolish some of the buildings to make straighter roads. However, it was a local problem, not shared by the other counties, so it needed to be handled locally. President Cullen did, however, save it for further thought and exploration.

Bella watched the world go by as they floated down the river. There was a marked difference between the east and the west sides not only of the river and traffic, but also the land beyond. There was nothing on the west side. It was all open land, untouched and uninhabited. She went to find Edward and drug him to the rail facing the west. "Why doesn't anyone live on that side of the river?"

He pointed at the water and answered, "The River is wide, and floods in the spring, yet is lower in the fall. It is big enough not to completely freeze over in the winter, but unsafe passage with ice flows floating around. If there were a safe way to have a regular ferry here and there it might be feasible, but no one has wanted to buy the land and do that, considering the dangerous winter. People have considered building bridges, but that is really hard to do with the flow the way it is, and the bridge would have to be really, really tall for the sails to fit under them. Also we would need something in longer lengths and stronger than wood to handle the traffic across it. No one has come up with a plan so far to do all that."

They arrived at Portsmouth after dark. Lanterns were lit for their arrival and disembarkment as they climbed into the carriage that took them to the palace. Bella was dead on her feet and was too tired to see much until her head hit her pillow. She didn't even catch the name of the handmaid that helped her change into her nightgown.


End file.
